


Absence Makes the Soul...

by ibeta



Series: Work in Slow Progress [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Affectionate Skeletons, Demisensual Sans, Fluff, Flustered Sans, Kisses, M/M, Oblivious Sans, Papyrus Knows, Promises, Rise and Shine, Romantic Papyrus, Smooth Papyrus, The Surface, hugs and kisses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-08-30 11:28:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8531290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ibeta/pseuds/ibeta
Summary: Things keep distracting Sans from realizing he's in love. That, or he may be too close to the issue to notice that there was something to notice. (Or, actually, he is an oblivious fluffy bunny, and Papyrus may be the fox.)Papyrus is punned. Papyrus is smooth. Papyrus is romantic. Papyrus might secretly be a Slytherin at how smooth he maneuvers his brother into 'cuddles'.(Frisk is on probation, because there was no way Sans would trust that little Pr–Frisk near his brother. Or anyone at all.)





	1. ...a little lovestruck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short moment out of the Underground...
> 
> Sans has a sweet and short epiphany. 
> 
> Papyrus secretly likes the jokes.

Sans could not believe it. He could not believe the sight of the sun, the gentle breeze of fresh air, the humidity hitting his bones with a gentle ease that made his soul shiver. He could not believe Frisk's hesitant words of promise. It wasn't even a promise, but softly uttered words that told him _no more resets_. He'd pretended not to know what they meant, causing Frisk to believe that, while he knew about the timelines changing due to his hinted scientific background, he had no actual memory of the events that led them to RESET.

When a twig snapped under his slippers, he flinched. He could barely handle the sight of a fluttering butterfly that swooped down from a tall perch of a branch, what more of sudden noises that meant someone was active? Usually, the snow covered the sound, but rarely did the Underground have twigs lying around (unless it was the Dump).

"SANS, LOOK AT THE SUN! WHAT A FANTASTIC VIEW!"

Sans turned to his brother. His mouth clicked shut and his throat clogged with gibberish words. The sunlight bathed Papyrus' skull with a golden light, illuminating his normally-white bones with a golden orange hue that made Sans' mind falter. There was something in the way the wind made soft waves on his red scarf, the way his eyes sparkled with delight and how his grin seemed to be just brighter than the sun... oh, stars. Oh stars, his brother looked...

Beautiful.

So... _beautiful_.

...oh. _Oooohhh_... OH! Stars, he was –

A hand waved at his face, quickly nudging away his thoughts. Sans looked down to the kid, mind keen with terrifying clarity. Sans tried to wipe away the memory (failing that, he filed away the thoughts) and focused all his attention on the kid. There was a pensive expression on their face, and they were rapidly signing and mouthing words quietly.

" _What's wrong_?"

Sans' grin wavered a little, then he looked back at Papyrus, who was watching him curiously. He mustered (mustard, hah) enough willpower to tear his eyes away from his cool brother. He shrugged in reply, then said, "i've never seen paps look like that before."

The kid frowned with guilt. " _Sorry_."

"heh, don't mention it, kid. you're trying to stop from eating the timeline again, right?" The kid nodded. "then let's never talk about it ever again, okay?" Frisk nodded sheepishly again.

With those words said, Sans watched the sun again, wondering about the next reset. He'd rather not talk about the previous timelines. If he thinked too deeply about it, he might just accidentally push Prick – _Frisk_ back into the hole where they fell.

"never thought i'd see the sun again, bro."

Papyrus stumbled on a rock and Frisk's eyes snapped up to him. Sans turned away and grinned with distress. Damn his loose teeth (hah!).

"NYEH? WHEN HAVE YOU SEEN THE SUN BEFORE, BROTHER?"

Sans' mind went through a sonic run as he winked. "from those movies we got from the dump. don't you remember?" Frisk's face displayed a pouting disinterest to his words. Heh.

"NYEH!" Papyrus scoffed, crossing his arms with disbelief. "THOSE MOVIES DO NOT EVEN COMPARE, BROTHER!"

Sans couldn't help but be disenchanted, feeling that sooner or later, the kid would reset, and he would be back in his little sentry station, practicing puns in his head, knocking on the door to the Ruins to give Toriel a joke. Chugging magical ketchup to keep his mind away from dangerous paths...

"heh, i know they'd looked a little _dim,_ but you have to give them some credit! you know they're _brighter_ than they look. they're definitely _illuminating_."

Papyrus gasped, looking deeply betrayed (and painfully trying to hide his amusement). "SANS, _NO!"_

Sans heard Toriel giggling and with laughter. Asgore coughed a chuckle and Undyne audibly twitched with displeasure when Alphys giggled. He smiled at Papyrus, something that felt softer than his usual grin, and Papyrus hugged him. He felt familiar warmth filling his soul, magic settling into a peaceful hum of patience when Papyrus swung him around with combined hilarity and frustration.

Heh.

He knew Papyrus liked his jokes.

* * *

 

(Stars save Pri-sk if they reset the timeline again.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little draft I made for fun. I wanted to share. WIP... thousans of years later slow. Until I get a sweet muse.
> 
> I'd been thinking of drafting... Something worthy... But then I thought it was all nonsans. So... Have this one.
> 
> iBeta is not actually a beta. If there are any mistakes, it's entirely my fault. English may or may not be my other language (actually, I started talking in English before I knew English properly... But it's not my language).


	2. ...a little distressed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans woke up late. 
> 
> Sans is not. 
> 
> p a n i c k i n g.

_Skelebros' Home, Snowdin, Underground_

• • •

When Sans woke up the next day without Papyrus' usual reproachful greeting, he panicked. He'd charged out of his room in despair, neglecting to grab his pants off the floor, one slipper hanging on his left feet. He jumped three steps at a time down the stairs and nearly slipped when he swerved away from the wall.

Just as he was entering their kitchen, Papyrus came through the doorway, looked at him with a stupefied expression, and then shouted about obscenities and something about getting dressed properly. Papyrus's face had been lit a red-orange, his eyesockets popped wide with embarrassment. Then, Papyrus covered his eyes with a kitchen towel (probably when he realized he was staring).

Sans was just too relieved to care and just tied his jacket around the front of his pelvis, then he hugged his brother and clung for the rest of the morning. Papyrus had a blush on his cheekbones while Sans attempted to tell him not to skip his routine because he dreamed a giant human used his bones as a tooth pick.

_What a liar_ , Sans thought to himself, sighing as Papyrus patted his head with a gentle touch, rubbing away the distress that pounded through his magic. He had been holding back his magic, patience at the end of its measure, trying not to teleport to Pr -- Frisk when he thought Papyrus had been dusted. Again. But he needed proof, just in case.

No matter how many times it had been, seeing Papyrus being dusted always brought pain straight to the culmination of his whole being. Seeing that bright monster SOUL fading away from the world, because his heart was too big with trust and compassion, because his heart was too occupied with everything else to allow hatred or fury... _stars_ , if he hadn't made a promise to watch over the kid, the brat would probably be blue and surrounded completely by blue bones. Even then, his patience and mercy was too deeply ingrained, with it came his reluctance to kill a child.

A child that went on a genocide spree just because _they wanted to see what happened_.

_Okay_ , so he might still be a little bitter, but he kept seeing his brother being dusted in his dreams and reality, so it was not far-fetched to feel extremely protective when the kid pays them a visit. He would sit on the couch and watch them with dark eyesockets, grin wide, making them nervous and Papyrus, as ever, oblivious.

Sans didn't hear or feel his brother wake him up in the morning. That only happened when his brother got dusted by the kid. To see Papyrus alive and realizing he hadn't woken him up... it made Sans feel something. Maybe now that the Surface was available, Papyrus did not need his older brother anymore. The idea made Sans feel both a little proud and a little afraid.

Sans said so. "heh. my little bro's growing up. doesn't his big bro to keep him entertained anymore."

Papyrus beamed. "NYEH HEH HEH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL ALWAYS APPRECIATE YOU, BROTHER! YOU ARE, AFTER ALL, MY NUMBER ONE FAN! THE SECOND COOLEST PERSON IN MY LIFE!"

Sans melted from the fondness and felt only adoration. He was surprised that Papyrus would consider him the second coolest person. He would have thought Papyrus would mark him under Mettaton, Undyne, Asgore and Toriel. Hell, even under the kid's rank in his list. He wouldn't have thought Papyrus thought so highly of him.

Sans flushed with magic. "yeah, well... you're my coolest person, bro. i thought i'd be the fifth or sixth coolest person to you, but i never imagined being second to you."

Papyrus gasped with indignation, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him, eyes glowing with righteousness. "SANS, TO ME, YOU ARE THE COOLEST PERSON I KNOW! THAT IS, IF I DO NOT COUNT MYSELF! NYEH HEH HEH, EVEN IF YOU ARE A LAZYBONES."

_Whoa_. Sans watched him with wide sockets, his eyelights disappearing from shock. Papyrus placed a gloved hand on his chest, like a character from one of the storybooks Sans read to him at bedtime.

"YOU GIVE ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, EVEN GREATER ADVICE THAN BOOKS. I LEARN MUCH MORE FROM YOU THAN ANYONE ELSE! YOU WILL ALWAYS BE NEEDED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS! EVERY GREAT PERSON NEEDS AN ADVISOR, YES? YOU ARE MY BROTHER, MY ADVISOR. THAT, AND MORE!"

Sans felt his magic churning with powerful emotion. Some of it from being flustered by Papyrus' compliments, some from being so admired by his brother.

_Wow._ His bro was so _cool._

"heh. you're the coolest, bro. thanks. i think i needed to hear that."

"NYEH HEH HEH! OF COURSE, SANS! IF YOU NEED TO HEAR MORE, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL HAPPILY TELL YOU HOW IMPORTANT YOU ARE TO ME."

He did need to hear it. He thought his near-apathetic state concerning the timelines would ruin his relationship with his brother. His one hope. The only person that made him fight to stay awake. The only reason he stayed alive until the end, because Pap wouldn't want him to laze around, would want him to move forward despite everything. He'd want him to give the child a chance, to spare the kid if they changed their minds from killing everyone in the Underground.

He started feeling better, settling to cuddle Papyrus until _Papyrus_ got tired. He didn't think he'd get tired from cuddling his brother.

He had the _coolest_ brother, ever.

* * *

(To _Sans_ ' surprise, they had cuddled the day away.

Coolest. Bro. _Ever_.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to share dying-from-compliments Sans. I think he would accidentally blush himsef to dust.


	3. ...a little confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans having secrets. Sans thinking. Sans texting. Sans having good ideas.

_Sans' Room, Skelebros' Home, Snowdin, Underground_

•••

The thoughts came back in a few days later, right after Papyrus volunteered to accompany re-elected Queen Toriel while she did her queenly business. Tori found Papyrus just as cool as Sans did, and fondly requested that his brother to be a part of her new guard. Asgore's face had twisted into a teary-eyed puppy-dog look, but both Toriel and Paps ignored the King while they talked. Sans had been surprised, but delightedly smug that his brother and his pun-pal got along.

Papyrus went over the roof with joy. Not only did Toriel offer him to be a part of her guard, but the queen herself was a master chef of a different kind. Like Undyne, Toriel also wanted to teach Papyrus the art of cooking with the power of passion (but with more patience). Sans nearly admitted that he could teach Papyrus cooking with the art of chemistry, but the bonedazzled look on his brother's face made him bite his magic tongue.

No need to open the casket of bones that Sans had extensive cooking skills that even Papyrus forgot, once upon a time. Who else would feed Pap the most nutritious assortment of food he needed when he had softer bones?

(Definitely not Undyne. He would have had returned to see the house up in flames, his brother crying along with a terrified Undyne. Undyne, who Sans would probably give a glare and it would manage to lower her HP to a significant one.)

The thoughts came in with a smooth trickle, rippling with ideas of cooking food for his brother, inviting Papyrus for a starry-night picnic, or maybe teaching Papyrus how to dance. Maybe they could have a singing contest, and Sans would tell his brother that he had the coolest singing voice, one that would put every singer to shame. Maybe Sans could teach Papyrus how to keep track of his location with the use of constellations, to take Pap's hand and trace their fingers across the sky, to map out the Ursa Major and Minor, maybe even find Venus. Maybe they could just watch one of the human movies, the one with a human girl with long hair and wanted to see the lamps floating to the sky. They could cuddle on the couch and stare at awe when the girl finally reached the castle and discovered her parents in the end.

Sans stared at his ceiling, following the familiar grooves with a dreamy gaze.

It was, to say the least, very confusing. Sans couldn't tell what it meant, only that he probably needed to bond with his brother more. He was probably feeling bonely, already missing his brother's earnest theatrics. Papyrus was such a powerful impact (hah, font) in his life, and without the background noise of Pap cleaning out the whole house, it sounded so... quiet.

He was tempted to use a shortcut to Papyrus' side, but he held himself back by the spine. _Later_ , he kept having to remind himself. _Do something with Paps later._

So he shrugged his jacket on, then zipped himself up. He pulled up a pair of pants and dared to pick up Papyrus' legendary archnemesis number two: _THE SOCK_. He stared at the physical reminder of the resets. No more resets, right? Sans made a shortcut for the sock and it landed in the hamper.

Then, he grabbed a clean sock from his closet and impishly placed it on the same spot. Papyrus would be able to tell it was clean, but he would still have that magic of righteous passion in his eyesockets once he discovered it.

Sans chuckled quietly, then pulled up his phone to send Pap a message instead.

_* hi paps. water you doing?_

_* WELL, BROTHER, I WAS HAVING A GREAT TIME DISCUSSING KNITTING WITH QUEEN TORIEL, BUT IT IS NOW RUINED BY YOUR PUN!!!_

_* heh. you know you love it!_

_* NOOOO!!!_

_* welp. i can't win them all, but i know what will win me with you._

_* AND THAT IS?_

_* what do you want for dinner later?_

_* SANS, IS THIS YOU?_

_* who else would i be?_

_* I DO NOT BELIEVE I HAVE EVER HEARD YOU OFFER SOMETHING FOR DINNER!_

_* yes, i know. it's a rarity. still, what do you want? if you have no idea, i have one dish perfectly memorized. it's my masterpiece._

_* NYEH? YOU KNOW HOW TO COOK?! AND YOU HAVE A SPECIAL DISH THAT YOU MASTERED! LIKE MY SPAGHETTI IS TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS! SANS, YOU SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED IT!_

_* but how will i eat your spaghetti if i told you i knew how to cook?_

_* YOU'RE RIGHT, BROTHER! NOTHING CAN TRUMP MY SPAGHETTI!_

_* yeah, your spaghetti is impastable to defeat._

_* AAAAAGHH, NO MORE PUNS! MY SPAGHETTI IS SACRED._

_* bro, you have a special way of cooking._

_* NEVERMIND THAT, BROTHER! WHAT ARE YOU COOKING?_

_* pun-king soup!_

_* SANS, NOOOO!!!_

Sans laughed heartily at the message, clutching his ribs.

_* SANS, WHY?! HOW COULD YOU?! YOU HAVE RUINED THE DISH FOR ME!!!_

Sans grinned with mischief and popped the joints on his fingers. He'd already practiced this in his head, and typed out his message.

_* because you're my sweet little pap-kin._

_* NYAAAAAH!!!! THAT'S IT, SANS! I OFFICIALLY DISOWN YOU!_

_* paps, no. please don't dishown me._

_* SAAANNNSSS!!!!_

_* aww, but ... bro. bro, i worked hard on that pun! what will i do without you?_

_* WELL!!! NOW YOU BETTER GET USED TO BEING SANS-KIN!_

Sans' laughter caught in his throat, hilarity flushing his magic with a rich jolt of energy. He laughed harder, cheekbones flushing with blue magic and making his sheets float an inch off his bed.

 _Oh stars, Pap_. His bones rattled with triumphant glee and delight at accidentally baiting Papyrus to make a pun.

_* oh stars, bro. that wa s_

His fingers slipped from his shaking, magical tears of joy trailing down his cheekbones.

_* OH NO._

_* that was hella punny, bro! i have never felt more proud of you than usual until today. you bring hope to this sans-kin skeleton._

_* I FEEL SO HORRIFIED!!! MY HAND HAS BETRAYED ME! YOU RUINED MY MIND!_

_* oh stars, i'm going to take screenshot and use it as my background!_

_* NOOO!!! SANS, WHY WOULD YOU USE MY SHAMEFUL USE OF A PUN AS YOUR BACKGROUND IMAGE?! IS THIS... IS THIS BLACKMAIL MATERIAL??!?_

_* come home and let this sans-kin give you a hug!_

_* NOOO!!!! I WILL FOREVER LIVE WITH QUEEN TORIEL AND FORGET MY SHAMEFUL PAST._

_* you can't! you have to help this bonely sans-kin find a new brother!_

_* SAAAAANNNSS, WHYYYYY?!?!_

* * *

 

(But Sans had more odd dreams of his brother dancing with him under a star-lit sky, and wow did those dreams make his bones rattle with excitement. After those dreams, he would sneak away and practice, finding it easier without an audience. Papyrus would be so proud, but Sans was too shy to even hint about why he was always so tired after doing "extra sentry duties" for Undyne.

The most useful effect of the practice, well... it increased his evasion skills and his speed, along with his coordination skills. He was also more aware of his body as an instrument of rhythm instead of a heavy cage. It was highly effective against Frisk. Not that Sans ever gave more effort to show just how much he could have dunked the kid several times with ease.)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was writing and the puns made themselves. I didn't even know I could pun. It must be the power of writing about Sans trolling his brother! Also, I made dancing as Sans' secret training for EVA (evasion) and SPD (speed).
> 
> I'm using stats I know from games I've played. Undertale stats will still exist. I'm newish to the fandom. At least a week or two newish. I'm mostly a research nerd.


	4. ...a little dense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has a sleepover with Papyrus.
> 
> Then a spontaneous bone massage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got confused and thought I deleted the other chapter, BUT IT WAS THIS ONE.

_Papyrus_ ' _Room, Skelebros' Home, Snowdin, Underground_

• • •

"...and then the shy bunny went back to the house of the daring little fox. they shared tea and jokes, then they decided to live together because they liked each other."

Sans tried to make up another fluffy scene to the story, but he was distracted. Papyrus' eyesockets were wide and sparkling with awe. It couldn't have been such a great story, but Papyrus believed in the stuff. True friendship and romance, happy endings and brighter futures. _'huh... maybe... if i add a twist_...?'

"then the daring little fox wasn't so lonely anymore. the bunny was such a great friend to have, so funny and kind that the fox began to fall in love..."

Sans scratched his skull, feeling oddly off. There was something about the story he was building up to crash, but he couldn't pinpoint the exact disturbance. There was something about the characters that seemed to be familiar, but...

"AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED, BROTHER?" Papyrus whispered a bit loudly making Sans chuckle at the interruption.

"you sure you want me to continue? it goes a little...odd."

Papyrus nodded eagerly at him, shaking with anticipation as he tucked himself further in his blanket. Sans hummed, trying to think up a scene. He could only remember those ridiculously cute animes that Alphys had made them watch together. Sans winced.

"SANS?"

Sans startled. "oh, um. so the fox fell in love with the bunny, because hey, why not? who wouldn't want to be with such a cool person? certainly not the fox! he really liked the bunny."

"WHY WAS THAT, SANS?"

"that is a great question, pap." Sans tapped a finger on his cheekbone, thinking about the story analytically. "hmm, well, the fox probably thought the bunny was the coolest person they know, and we know that the bunny is compassionate, patient and loyal. it must be some kind of science that positive attracts, but it attracts the fox... the fox must really like our bunny."

"WHAT HAPPENED THEN? WILL THE FOX CONFESS HIS ETERNAL LOVE FOR THE BUNNY?" Papyrus wriggled excitedly, nearly pushing Sans off the small racecar bed in his enthusiasm. Sans grabbed the book before it fell.

"heh. nah, pap. the fox didn't confess, too afraid to be rejected. he stayed silent and, instead, quietly supported the bunny in his quest to try and make each one of the animals in the kingdom laugh."

Papyrus looked dejected. "BUT THE FOX LOVES THE BUNNY, SANS!" Papyrus protested. "WHY WOULDN'T THEY CONFESS TO THE BUNNY?"

"he was afraid, paps," he replied gently. Papyrus didn't let up his bristling confusion. "he probably thought the bunny was better off with some other better animal. besides, the fox enjoyed having a best friend in the bunny. from what i can surmise, i'd say the fox thought that the bunny was the best animal in the kingdom, and thought the bunny might find someone better or similar to their personality."

"THE FOX IS HIS BEST FRIEND, WHO ELSE WOULD BE A BETTER LOVE INTEREST?" Papyrus mused, shaking his head. "BUT THEN WHAT HAPPENED?"

Sans tapped the blackened pages of the book. "hmmm... well, the fox finally got the courage to confess after the bunny finally made each one of the animals in the kingdom laugh."

Papyrus gasped in a mixture of delight and apprehension. "HE'S GOING TO CONFESS!"

"yep. it was the day of friendship, and everyone in the animal kingdom celebrated their friendships, so the fox asked to talk to the bunny, and he said, 'i would like to thank you for being my friend, and i want you to know i have loved you for a long time.'"

"AND HE GETS ACCEPTED!!!" Papyrus squealed, looking completely enamored by the idea.

Sans felt a twinge of guilt for what he was about to do. "...sorry to pop your bubble, paps, but no. the fox got rejected. the bunny loves the fox a lot, but not in the way the fox loved him. so after the fox confessed, the bunny said, 'i'm so sorry, fox. while you mean the world to me, i don't feel the same as you do. still, you're my friend and i love you. i'd like us to be the best of friends.' the fox was upset, but he accepted that he would not be together with the bunny. he thought maybe he'd just be the best friend the bunny could find so the bunny would never feel so alone."

Papyrus looked deeply troubled. Sans prepared to take back the plotline and tell Papyrus it was a joke. Then Papyrus stared determinedly at him. "SANS. THE BUNNY OBVIOUSLY LOVES THE FOX! HE HAS TEA WITH THE FOX, GIVES HIM COMPLIMENTS AND ALWAYS LISTENS WITH AN OPEN HEART AND MIND! THE BUNNY THINKS OF THE FOX EVERY DAY AND WORRIES ABOUT HIM AND HIS HEALTH! WHY WOULD HE NOT ACCEPT THE LOVE OF THE FOX? THEY COULD HAVE DATES, AND THEN THEY COULD GET MARRIED!"

Sans scratched his skull. "well, paps. i have a question for you. if you got rejected by someone you like, would you rather be their friend or not at all? because the fox had no one before, just a cra- crazy lonely life without anyone in it because he was too different and he knew things no one else did. maybe the bunny didn't know that he actually loves the fox, or maybe the bunny wasn't that into the fox. maybe the bunny was in denial, too."

Papyrus shook his head firmly. "NO, SANS! THE BUNNY LOVES THE FOX!!! HE IS PROBABLY JUST TOO CLOSE TO THE ISSUE TO SEE IT, LIKE ONE OF THOSE SILLY ROMANTIC STORIES WHERE THE PROTAGONIST DOES NOT REALIZE THEY ARE IN LOVE WITH THEIR CLOSEST FRIEND BECAUSE THEY HAVE FELT THE LOVE FOR TOO LONG AND IDENTIFIED IT AS A LOVE FOR A FRIEND!!"

San's jaw gaped open, and he felt amazement at Papyrus' perceptiveness. He hadn't thought of it that way.

"NOT TO MENTION," Papyrus added, "THAT THEY HAVE LIVED TOGETHER FOR SO LONG. I DOUBT THE BUNNY HAD MADE THE WHOLE KINGDOM LAUGH IN JUST ONE DAY, AS EACH FRIENDSHIP IS RARE, PROGRESSING IN ITS OWN PACE. THE BUNNY MUST HAVE MISCONSTRUED FRIENDSHIP AND ROMANCE!! MAYBE IF THEY SEPARATE FOR A LONG WHILE, THE BUNNY WOULD RECOGNIZE HIS LOVE FOR THE FOX!"

" _bro_ ," Sans whispered in earnest awe, "you're so amazing. i think i overlooked that part, and you just... wow. you really are the coolest bro." And Papyrus will always ever be the coolest.

He had always had this odd image of his brother being too innocent for the world, but Sans knew better than that. He knew those puzzles and traps took careful preparation and redesigning. Papyrus would design an extremely dangerous and intricate trap, something that would defintely catch a human... but then Papyrus would approach him with a look of guilt and ask him to make it more... safer. So that the human would have the chance to prove themselves worthy of being caught by Papyrus. And maybe survive fairly.

Compassionate, kind, merciful... his brother had a really sweet heart.

Heh. Sweetheart.

Sans had the coolest and sweetest brother ever. Maybe he could find something to buy Papyrus that said those exact words. Somethine blue, so it would have a good contrast with his brother's orange magic, and maybe something with ice cubes and sugar cubes drawn on it for pun. If he couldn't find anything, he'd just make it himself. His brother would appreciate that.

Papyrus beamed at him with pride and adoration. "OF COURSE I AM, BROTHER!! NYEH! I HAVE ALSO LEARNED SO MUCH FROM YOU! I REMEMBER THAT YOU LIKED SCIENCE A LOT AND ALWAYS TOLD ME TO GATHER THE EVIDENCE AND MAKE SURE IT WOULD SUPPORT MY EXPLANATIONS! I SIMPLY UTILIZED ALL MY OBSERVATIONS AND INFERENCES AND MADE SURE MY EVIDENCE SUPPORTED MY POINT AND COMBINED IT FROM WHAT I MANAGED TO UNDERSTAND FROM ROMANCE STORIES!"

Sans' skull flushed with his magic and he couldn't help but smile shyly, tracing small SOUL-shaped scribbles on the book and lowering his head. "y-you really remembered all that? th-that's cool, paps. that means you have good memory."

Papyrus shook his head. "IT MEANS THAT I HAVE THE GREATEST BROTHER... WHO ALSO HAS THE EVEN MORE GREATEST BROTHER!"

" _aw_ , paps..." Sans covered his blushing face in embarrassment and delight, but Papyrus reached out and held his left hand back, so he had to use his right hand to cover only the lower half. "no, let me hide!" he protested, pulling slightly. Papyrus would not budge.

He didn't pull his hand away. Papyrus' hand gripped firm, warm and soothing. It felt nice, like a hug but with skeletal hands. Oh stars, was his hand trembling? Sans looked at their hands closely, admiring the smooth ivory of his brother's bones, and the way he held his hand steadily. Yes, Sans' hand was trembling.

Sans gazed back at Papyrus' face and wished he hadn't, because his magic raced within his soul and another flush of cyan infused his cheeks. _'why do you have to be so sweet_!?'

Papyrus looked at him with a smug little grin. "BUT WHY, BROTHER? YOU LOOK VERY HAPPY RIGHT NOW! IT IS A GREAT TIME TO BE HAPPY! WE'VE DISCOVERED THAT THE BUNNY MAY HAVE STRONG FEELINGS OF ROMANTIC LOVE FOR THE FOX, BUT HE MIGHT NOT KNOW OF IT!"

Sans laughed frantically. "th-that's, um, really perceptive of you. what..." Sans cleared his intangible throat, trying to compose himself. He paused, then took a steady breath. His soul frequency raced in flustered excitement, but it was bearable, so he smiled and gazed at Papyrus. "what do you think happened? i think... maybe the bunny will never realize it."

Papyrus hummed thoughtfully. "PERHAPS THE FOX KNOWS THE SIGNS OF ROMANTIC LOVE. IF HE DOES, AND HE STILL LOVES THE BUNNY, MAYBE HE WOULD CONFESS AT A LATER DATE?"

Analyzing the story and including Papyrus' perceptive ruminations... "maybe they could stay that way forever," Sans mused. "the fox knows he loves the bunny, and the bunny knows the fox loves him. the fox will notice the bunny loves him based on his actions, even if the bunny is oblivious. the bunny would probably never even think of another animal as a love interest because he wouldn't ever feel right. the bunny might find out in the end, if he did try to think about it."

Papyrus nodded in agreement and triumphant satisfaction. "AND THEY PROBABLY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!"

"you're right, bro," he said, grinning lightly when he heard Papyrus' soft ' _nyeh_ '. "maybe they could go on dates and get married afterwards."

"THEY WOULD BE THE GREATEST COUPLE IN THE KINGDOM," Papyrus reassured himself strongly. Sans laughed quietly. "NO ONE ELSE WOULD MAKE THE GREATEST TEA BUT THE FOX. AND NO ONE ELSE WOULD MAKE THE GREATEST SANDWICHES BUT THE BUNNY." Papyrus grinned sheepishly when Sans aimed him a look of fond expectation."SEE? EVEN THEIR TASTES ARE COMPLEMENTARY! IF THEY HAD MAGIC, MAYBE THEY WOULD HAVE CYAN AND ORANGE, LIKE OURS!"

Sans banished the book with his magic, aiming the shortcut to Papyrus' shelf. "you're right, bro. they'd probably have complementary magic."

 _'how in the underground did my sad ending become a relationship discussion and end up being happy anyway_?'

Sans snuck a quick look at his brother, who stared right back at him in a contemplating manner. Sans glanced down at his jacket to see if it had tomato sauce on it.

Finding nothing, he glanced up again, just in time to see Papyrus smiling sweetly. "what is it, bro? do i have herbs stuck between my teeth or something?" Sans raised his right hand to prod his teeth and noticed his left was still occupied. His face flushed reflexively with magic.

"YOUR HAND FEELS SO COMFORTABLY WARM. IT IS... SO SOOTHING. IT FEELS NICE, DOESN'T IT?"

Papyrus squeezed his hand. Sans' soul skipped a pattern from the contact. He couldn't tear his eyelights away from their connection.

"a-ah... um... yeah. it feels nice."

"WELL THEN, BROTHER. IT'S GETTING LATE AND WE BOTH HAVE THINGS TO DO IN THE MORNING." Sans felt a little sad, but he nodded anyway, moving to pull away. His brother simply pulled him closer and shook his head, so Sans stayed put. "WOULD YOU MIND STAYING IN BED WITH ME FOR A SLEEPOVER?" Papyrus asked, tone heavy with warmth and confidence.

Sans' brain muted with a familiar tinnitus ringing. Oh. Huh. Where did all his thoughts go?

"PLEASE?" Papyrus raised his free hand, placing it on Sans' flushed cheekbone. His brother's bones started to glow a soft, hazy orange and his eyes lit up with his orange magic. He brought up Sans' left hand to his teeth and landed a tender skeleton kiss on his metacarpals. _Clack_. "SANS?"

Sans' metaphorical heart exploded with soul-melting adoration and flustered shyness from Papyrus' earnest, pleading eyelights. His skull felt lighter than air and his soul felt like it ran around the Milky Way a hundred times. His face glowed with a darker shade of cyan, and his bones flashed with a complex combination of his Integrity, Patience and Justice magic. His whole soul messed up somewhere, but _stars_ it felt... it felt like someone just ran a hand once and all over his soul and his soul had liked it.

 _'aw, paps... what are you doing to my soul_?'

Mute with overwhelming and mortifying emotions, Sans continued to stare at Papyrus, feeling like he just bared himself naked, soul lit up like lightbulb under his sternum, shifting colours between his magic. Papyrus stared back, and his own soul was glowing in response to Sans', a strong soulbeat right underneath his pajama top.

"SANS, I MAY NEED AN ANSWER." Papyrus sounded fondly amused as he rubbed gently under his eyesocket.

"staying!" Sans blurted, then masterfully created a shortcut for his clothes with one hand and switching it for his clean, unused pajamas. It had felt like a lifetime, but... it had been all in one second. Even Papyrus looked highly impressed.

His brother shifted his back to the wall, pulling him by the hand. Sans felt his soul squirming in anticipation as he lifted the blanket and crawled underneath the fluffy thing. Then Papyrus let go of his hand.

Before Sans could even start feeling sad about it, Papyrus wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer. His soul resonated with surprise and a silent, internal... screaming? It felt like screaming. Along with the internal screaming came the regular magical blush that mortified Sans to the tip of his bones.

_'oh boy...'_

The arm felt nice and secure around his waist. Papyrus' own glowing soul provided an emotional warmth that bloomed from Sans' sternum and to his spine and to the tips of his tarsals. They were both glowing. It felt... it felt so intimate, especially when Papyrus pulled him closer until their sternums touched. Sans gasped and shuddered from the pleasant feeling of a liquid-fire emotion filling his soul at the contact. Papyrus breathed out a heavy sigh across his temple that made Sans clutch Papyrus closer, biting back a soft moan.

 _'oh... w-what... stars, w-what was_...'

Oh stars, he was trembling. His bones rattled and shook and he felt so flustered that his soul had appeared outside of battle, that he shared something that felt so intimate with his sweet brother. He buried his blushing face in Papyrus' neck, digging his cheekbones into the joints and hoping that with enough Patience it would return his face back to normal.

 _CLACK_.

Sans squeaked at the sudden skeleton kiss bestowed at the top of his skull. His magic went haywire from the contact and lit him up from the inside.

"Good night, Sans," Papyrus murmured, voice low and warm.

There was something in the way he whispered Sans' name so silkily, and the way his fingers trailed ever _so slowly_ from the top of his skull, like he had all the time in the world, gently gliding tips of his bones down his lumbar, moving even slower to trace just above his sacrum. It felt nice, so Sans shut his eyes and prepared to nap for hours.

Sans gasped out a silent moan of surprise. His fingers made deep creases Papyrus' clothes, but Papyrus didn't even seem to care. Sans felt his bones become pliant to the soft caressing, bones tracing circles around the holes of his sacrum.

Sans had turned into a puddle of melted bones.

When his brother finally settled on leaving his hand at the back of his neck, Sans was left panting for air he didn't need, so extremely confused about Papyrus' spontaneous bone massage.

"n-n-night, paps," he uttered. "thanks for the massage. that felt really good."

 _'maybe i should encourage paps to become some kind of physiotherapist_.'

* * *

 

("...AND HE THOUGHT I WAS MASSAGING HIS BONES PLATONICALLY," Papyrus sobbed into his prime spaghetti, "WHEN I WAS ACTUALLY TRYING TO SEDUCE HIM!!!"

The Judge sweated nervously, then he adjusted his mask and patted the sobbing mess on the back. It was weird... dreaming of a different Papyrus. "It could not have been that bad... right?"

Papyrus lifted his skull and glared, but the effect was ruined by pasta noodle hanging from his eyesocket and nasal cavity.

"...was it that bad?" he asked meekly.

"HE WANTED ME TO THINK ABOUT BEING A PHYSIOTHERAPIST... AFTER I HAD LEFT HIM GASPING FOR BREATH AND EXTREMELY AROUSED."

' _Cripes, that's bad._ '

"That's... bad." Papyrus nodded glumly, then his eyesockets narrowed in concentration.

"AND YOU, OTHER-SANS? HOW GOES YOU AND YOUR PAPYRUS?"

The Judge inwardly screamed, which, to his relief, woke him up. He eyed the bottle of tomato 'wine' on his table, swearing to never drink unknown edible gifts until he had analyzed it down to their genetic detail.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mistakes all around because of me. I AM SO SORRY.


	5. ...a little bonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans finds books about magical house protection. Sans sinks into the bad thoughts. Sans has a small panic attack. Sans gets cuddled.
> 
> Papyrus is worried. His Sans is having a bad time. Papyrus cuddles Sans. Papyrus admits things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another bed scene, because I love Oblivious Sans being in bed with Paps and getting cuddles.
> 
> Warning for small panic attacks. Like one sentence probably. It doesn't even seem like it. I have no angst power. I made Sans cry.

When Asgore finally decided (with approval from Tori) to reveal the monsterkind to the humans, Sans had felt increasingly reluctant to leave his and Papyrus' home in Snowdin. After several RESETs of multiple timelines with different ends, Snowdin had become a place of familiarity to him. Even if Frisk had mercilessly dusted ( _killed_ ) Papyrus multiple times and ruined the sanctity of his and Papyrus' home with their dust-stained hands, it had greater memories of Papyrus running in and out of the house with excitement from learning to cook, enthusiasm for training as a Royal Guard trainee, and a powerful positive outlook in life.

Sans found it quite difficult to imagine leaving a place that held memories of him baking and cooking food for his babybone brother, and Papyrus gobbling up another slice of quiche after politely demanding for more.

He'd seen Papyrus eat something else besides variations of edible and inedible spaghetti. The second Papyrus discovered cooking, he took charge of the kitchen and Sans had been swayed to the side as an audience. Sans had nearly gagged at the first taste of burnt noodles and scalding tomato sauce, but then he saw Papyrus' uncertain look and he ate it all with tears of joy (pain) and told Papyrus it was the best spaghetti he'd ever tasted.

The brilliant smile that stayed on Pap's face made him feel light for the rest of the month. That memory was as important as the rest of the others.

Sans was stunned at the first realization of his own hesitance to leave. Reset after reset, he would have thought he'd be excited for freedom. Paps would certainly enjoy the starry sky instead of the glowing cave in Waterfall. Sans wondered if it was because of the vast unknown and undiscovered parts of the Surface, but he'd gone up to the Surface with Papyrus (to scout the mountains and appease Papyrus' sense of duty as a Royal Guard of the Queen) and it hadn't felt that daunting.

A fleeting sense of knowledge flashed through him.

"oh, right."

Sans glanced around, wondering if he could transport the whole house with a shortcut. That was it, right? He only needed the house. If he could switch clothes with a twitch of the wrist, then he could probably move the whole secret lab, too...

Then, he could feel better about being... on the Surface.

' _right_.' Sans grimaced, twirling a piece of his hoodie string with nervousness. ' _oh wow_...'

It sounded as appealing as a rotting tomato fruit. The idea of nosy humans near his home, after reading about burglars and thieves... welp. Not to mention all the highly advanced spying equipments they had on the Surface.

Not bringing the house, then.

Filled with a sense of foreboding, Sans took a shortcut to the castle's royal library. The rows and rows of books on the wall and the multiple shelves made him shiver. He'd already read nearly all those books from every RESET... maybe. He might have missed something in the Romance section, but that really wasn't his focus when he'd repeated tasks for the third time of the same day.

He browsed the magical protection section. There was a lot of it. It was... A large collection with multiple editions and in different languages. Must have been Asgore being as paranoid as ever. Sans thanked the stars.

Seeing as Asgore wasn't even there to stop him, Sans grabbed a couple of interesting books about home protection with his magic and trudged down to a table.

Maybe that would help him sleep better about having his and Papyrus house on the Surface... or not. Definitely not. Just realizing Pr--Frisk had unlimited access to his house because Papyrus was their friend...

It made him feel like his own home was unsafe. That Papyrus could be killed (again) in his house. That Frisk could come in one night while they slept...

No way was he leaving his house unprotected. Sans glowered at the tower of books, mentally preparing himself. He took the one from the top, then he started reading.

And reading.

And _reading_.

And... There! He scanned a page with his eyelights, reviewing the information about using magic to ward off intruders by creating a repelling force that would dissuade them from approaching.

Any emotion could be felt by the intruder, chosen by the caster.

Sans' grin turned sinister. Someone was about to feel their sins crawling throughout their entire SOUL. He immediately took a picture of the page with his phone.

He took more books and began reading, taking pictures of pages and planning elaborate and intricate designs for warding the house. He made sure to add pranks that would go well with the house enchantments. It wouldn't do well if Sans was discovered doubting Prisk. Frisk. They had allies on the monster side. While Sans considered himself an ally of the monsterkind, Frisk...

Well, Frisk was free game. And it wasn't as if Frisk would get harmed... much. Mostly just rethink their life choices and make them think deeply about their sins and guilt.

Sans still couldn't bother to lift his hand to harm them. He was still a monster to the core, and to kill a child... It was a bad idea. Papyrus would have been disappointed if Sans killed the kid.

He would have looked so devastated, and he would cry. Probably disown Sans for good. He would have also thought that Sans was lying about the kid dusting them all at a lot of different timelines. If Sans told him anything about the other timelines... Papyrus would probably think it was a lie, or a joke. He would never believe Sans.

It hurt to think that his own brother would probably think he made up those things. Papyrus dying and turning to dust, the emptiness of the Underground after the kid had left only Sans alive, the times he had committed... acts that led to his demise, the kid being killed, over and over again to prevent them from escaping without judgement.

Papyrus would have been disappointed. He would have given the kid a chance, not like Sans. His brother was better than him. His brother could have found out why the kid went mentally unstable and murdered everyone in the Underground like they had every right to dust the monsters.

A traitorous tear escaped his socket. He hastily wiped it dry and pushed himself away from the table. He stood up and paced instead, trying to get his skull away from those thoughts. He had thought he'd escaped those sad ideas when Frisk had freed them, but apparently it still clung like a leech, draining his joy.

Just thinking of Papyrus doubting him... Of not trusting his words, despite the truth it held... it made his SOUL ache. It filled him with so much pain. It felt bad.

Sans gasped shakily for breath, then the tears fell. He sobbed for the lives his Papyrus missed, for the dust he hadn't been able to shed on something Papyrus loved, for all the RESETs that had gone by and he had stayed silent about it to Papyrus. Even now, he was still the only one who remembered, the only one who knew what Frisk had done in the different timelines. They just kept dusting monsters left and right, sometimes getting bored and playing it up and making him live alone in a dusted Underground. So, so alone. He had never handled those timelines well and

"p-paps..." he cried, burying his face into his phalanges. He felt his magic trembling, wrapping around him. Trying to hold himself together when he couldn't.

His SOUL felt raw, his magic powerful. So many lives taken. So much death. Many times, Papyrus died and Sans was alone. He was alone.

**H e w a s a l o n e.**

He was alone and Papyrus was dead. Why should he continue on? Another RESET would happen and Sans would be back at his sentry station and making puns to pass his time. Another RESET and Sans would be back in the Underground and Papyrus would be complaining about the socks again. Another RESET and all his relationship level with everyone would be back to zero.

What could he even do? He was powerless against a RESET. He could only hope that it would change now that Frisk had chosen a different route from the one before.

He whimpered in his hands, lowering his head into his hood.

There was a weird vibration coming from his pocket. His phone was ringing. His sobs petered out. He grabbed the phone and felt a guilty smile stretch on his face.

Papyrus was calling. His brother was calling.

He took deep, unnecessary breaths and wiped his face, then he plastered a tremulous grin on his skull. He answered the phone.

"hi paps," he greeted. His voice only sounded a little tired, maybe a little shaky. It didn't sound much like he'd had a small panic attack in Asgore's library.

Papyrus answered after a whole second passed. "SANS, ARE YOU OKAY?"

Sans wiped his teary face, breath hitching. "yeah, bro. i'm good. i'm okay. just... air is a little dusty."

Sans couldn't stop the hysterical laughter at that escaped him.

"SANS, YOU DO NOT SOUND FINE AT ALL!" Papyrus protested vehemently. "I WAS ABOUT TO TELL YOU THAT I NEED TO ACCOMPANY THE QUEEN TO MEET WITH HUMANS, BUT... PERHAPS UNDYNE COULD DO IT INSTEAD! I NEED TO SEE YOU RIGHT THIS INSTANCE!"

Sans backtracked. "paps, no. you don't need to do that. i'm okay, paps. just laughed at something funny about dusty stuff."

Papyrus clicked his teeth. "SANS, I NEED TO SEE YOU. PLEASE, BROTHER."

Sans weakened at the soft pleading in his brother's voice. "aw, paps..."

"Sans, please?" Papyrus' small voice crawled right into Sans' SOUL. It wrecked him.

"okay," he conceded weakly. He could never say 'no' to that voice. It was a voice filled with memories of his babybones brother being so shy, or being three seconds from tears.

He shoved the books back with his magic and took a shortcut to his sentry station. It was probably best that he walked from there, to start cooling off before he met Paps.

• • •

Sans finally reached the house and entered the warm atmosphere of home. He shook off the snow from his hoodie and removed his white gloves.

"i'm back," he muttered. He surveyed the floor of the living room. Where was his extra sock? Had Paps cleaned up the room again?

"SANS!" Papyrus suddenly appeared right in front of him and scooped him up. Oddly enough, he was wearing pajamas.

Sans dangled helplessly in his arms, blushing a deep cyan glow of magic. "hey bro. how's it hanging?" he joked.

Papyrus made a noise and glared at him, but then his face twisted in shock. Sans felt nervousness at the sight and wondered if he missed a tear. Or if he looked as ragged as he felt.

"SANS," his brother murmured, leaning nuzzling his forehead. "I WAS WORRIED YOU WOULD NOT FIND IT IN YOURSELF TO COME HOME."

Sans felt a flutter in his rib cage. "that's not me at all. i come home right after i'm done work." He had been scared, too, that he wouldn't come home. But then Paps called... And... Well, he really needed to hear his brother's voice.

"AND GO TO GRILLBY'S FOR UNHEALTHY FOOD!" Papyrus added in a _stern_ um tone.

He chuckled, but then Sans found himself suddenly bundled up in thick blankets on the couch. He gaped at the movement, wondering if his mind had been so listless that he had... Blinked. Maybe. And if somehow Papyrus gained super speed.

What. He glanced up warily at his brother, who only looked mischievous.

"YOU ARE HAVING A BAD DAY," Papyrus declared in his 'DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD LIE TO ME' tone. Sans melted at the passionate look in his brother's eyesockets, feeling warmth seep into his bones. "SO, WE ARE GOING TO KEEP YOU SAFE AND WARM. THERE WILL BE NO VISITORS, ONLY US! NO TELEVISION, TOO! WE WILL BROWSE RANDOM PICTURES AND FORUMS ON THE UNDERNET, OR WE CAN JUST STAY ON THE BED IN MY ROOM AND DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO...! WHICH IS... NOTHING?" Papyrus looked confused.

Sans laughed at that. He felt a genuine smile stretch his grin and he felt his arms reach out, hands apart.

Papyrus looked eminently pleased at his response and scooped him up in his arms. Sans nuzzled his brother's neck, sighing at the loving hold his brother gave him. Everything felt better when he was in his brother's arms. Every bad thought stayed away.

"thanks a lot, paps," he said gratefully.

"THERE IS NO NEED TO THANK ME, BROTHER! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HAPPY TO KEEP YOU SAFE!"

His brother near his vicinity and under his watchful eye? It sounded great. No Frisk would dust him with Sans in the room.

His brother really knew him well.

Papyrus went up the stairs and they entered his room. Sans felt himself gently eased onto the bed and Papyrus crawling right next to him. The blanket lifted and he found himself back in Papyrus' arms.

They stayed silent for only a moment.

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IT, BROTHER?" Papyrus questioned suddenly.

"n-no, not really," Sans replied, trembling by the bones and wishing his brother would drop the subject.

"IS THAT SO? VERY WELL. IF YOU NEED ME TO LISTEN, I AM HERE! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL HELP YOU."

Sans blinked his sockets and looked up at his brother, who was wearing a very peculiar expression. He grinned at his brother and leaned upward. "thanks bro."

 _CLACK_.

He pressed a skeleton kiss on his brother's glowing cheekbone, then pulled away, blushing. He stared determinedly at Papyrus' clavicle, trying to ignore the flush on his cheekbones and the bold kiss he had just smacked on his brother. It felt like something was blown up in his ribs, and his SOUL was glowing.

So was Papyrus' SOUL, actually. It was glowing right underneath his pajama top. It was just like the time Paps had commenced an impromptu back massage and Sans had felt so good.

"Y-YOU ARE VERY WELCOME, SANS!"

He was abruptly gripped tightly, and both their sternums pressed together. Sans gasped in pleasure at the sensation of their SOULs being in near proximity. It felt like his SOUL was being swallowed by a soothing warm fire, burning steadily the longer Paps held onto him. His brother's phalanges traced soothing circles on the back of his ribs.

"I HOPE YOU FEEL SAFE AND SECURE WITH ME," Paps said, pressing a skeleton kiss on the crown of his head. He smoothed a hand down Sans' back, straightening the creases of his shirt.

"ye-yes," Sans breathed in a gasp, distracted by the way his brother's phalanges took a slight turn and started tracing the inner side of his ribs. His mind was blanking out, stuttering. He arched his back in surprise, something sharp trying to claw its way out of his SOUL. There was something good about the way his brother's phalanges neared the glow in his rib cage, something so intensely right.

Papyrus shifted forward and the tips of his bones discovered a really sensitive spot on his ribs.

" _a-ahh_...!" Sans released a breathy, high-pitched cry that sounded like it was ripped right out of his SOUL, dragged out by the way their bones met in a soft grind.

Papyrus stopped his soothing ministrations. Sans felt... he felt so surprised. Shocked. He lifted his skull and saw Papyrus blushing an orange shade of magic.

"S-SANS?" Papyrus said, placing a hand over Sans' heated cheekbones.

"it didn't hurt," Sans was quick to reassure. No, not really. He didn't know why that happened, but whatever Papyrus had done to his rib cage felt weirdly intense. And it felt really good.

"I DID NOT THINK SO," Papyrus reassured him back. Sans relaxed, nodding. Papyrus could probably tell if he was hurt. He had a really perceptive brother. Sometimes, Papyrus just had a sixth sense about his state of health, even in the past timelines.

"ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, THOUGH?" His brother looked fondly down at him, looking bemused.

Sans laughed slightly. "thanks bro. that was good. didn't know i could make weird sounds like that."

Papyrus' eyesockets narrowed a little. "SOMETIMES I DO NOT KNOW IF..."

"don't know what?"

"OH, IT IS NOTHING, SANS! JUST A STRAY THOUGHT ABOUT MY PUZZLES," Papyrus said with his soft 'nyeh's.

He hummed in reply.

Sans glanced at Paps' pajama top, seeing the the bright SOUL of his brother outlined in the thin cloth. He felt relieved. Somehow, the sight of his brother's SOUL calmed him down. It was alive, full of hope and dreams. He placed his hand gently over his brother's sternum, feeling a sense of life coming from the SOUL beneath it.

It filled him with a sense of belonging.

"i'm glad you're safe, paps," he murmured, looking up at his brother's look of confusion. "sometimes i have really bad dreams," he admitted. "bad dreams about you being... on a very long vacation."

Papyrus looked serious. Maybe a little stern. "I WOULD NEVER WILLINGLY LEAVE YOUR SIDE FOR A LONG TIME, SANS. I WOULD RATHER BRING YOU WITH ME TO A LONG VACATION, OR WE COULD BOTH STAY AT HOME! I COULD MAKE US VACATION SPAGHETTI! NYEH HEH HEH."

Sans closed his sockets, smiling softly. "i would do everything to protect you, paps. you know that, right?"

"...SANS," Papyrus began, lifting Sans' chin upward with his hand, "WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM?"

Sans opened his sockets, allowing his eyelights to appear. "sometimes you... sometimes i... dream stuff. i'm all alone, and no one is there. there's dust everywhere and i... really feel sad about those dreams, so i wear your scarf and just wander around. missing you badly."

Papyrus looked concerned, and that wasn't really what Sans wanted him to feel. "Are you having a lot of bad dreams, Sans?"

Sans felt tears at the corner of his sockets. "y-yeah. i hope you don't have bad dreams like mine."

Papyrus shut his eyesockets tightly and Sans was pulled closer. He nudged his temple on Papyrus' jaw, worried that his tears would fall.

"I... I wish I could protect you from your bad dreams, Sans," his brother whispered desperately. Sans sniffled and nodded in agreement, burying his face further in Papyrus' neck. His bones creaked at how his brother held him so securely. "I want... I want you to not feel so alone. I want you to know how much you mean to me, how utterly _precious_ you are to me. How rare and kind and compassionate you act towards me. You... Sans... You always do so much for me. I... I appreciate it, but sometimes I just want to give you more. So much more. I want you to feel like you only need to just ask and I would give you the world if you want it. You are... You are so important to me."

' _oh boy_.' Sans' SOUL glowed more brightly, and he flushed a deep cyan shade of magic. Papyrus' words... He didn't know his brother felt that way. He was so considerate, so thoughtful. Paps always had Sans' good health in mind, but apparently, also his needs and wants.

"thank you," he whispered back. "you _know_ i'd do the same, right? if you want or need _anything_ , it's yours."

"I... I just want and need _you_ ," his brother murmured against his temple. Sans felt his SOUL resonate with tenderness and appreciation at his brother's words.

"me too, paps," he replied softly, hugging his brother back. Papyrus seemed to hug him even more closely. "me too."

* * *

 

(When he took a nap, oddly enough, Papyrus was in his dreams.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATES ON THIS WILL FLUCTUATE! Since I wrote this for fun, I might update whenever. 
> 
> Say goodbye to a schedule. I am a master WIP updater.
> 
> All mistakes are mine. I have no one else to read my weird fic to tell me what I did wrong.
> 
> (Actually, I am getting a busier class schedule, but who cares? I'm going to write papysans on my free time so I can update frequently.)


	6. ...a little honest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has a slightly better dream. Sans confesses things. Sans loves his bro.
> 
> Papyrus is a good dream. Papyrus discovers things. Papyrus loves his brother.
> 
> Together, they can face anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is this a little late? I tried to stop writing and I couldn't end it anywhere. I wrote and wrote and added more.
> 
> Papyrus and Sans bond more. Because I like isolating the two of them.

It was a memory in a dream. The sense of foreboding in the air, the tense silence of Snowdin, the whispers of the wind that carried only the dust of monsters that it had previously inhabited. It smelled like death. The breeze tasted like dust. It made him extremely uncomfortable, so terrified.

The last thing he remembered... he had fallen asleep right beside his brother. He could remember it, now that he realized he was in a memory. He knew it was a memory because he had felt his brother's SOUL before he slept, completely wrapped in his arms, both their sternum touching, Sans' face burrowed into his brother's neck. It had felt amazing. Sans had felt like he could melt into his brother's bones and scent the soothing smell of tomato sauce and spices on Papyrus. It had felt clear... as clear as the memory showing him the fight between Papyrus and Frisk.

Sans looked forward, his body petrified with fear. His brother had asked Frisk to be better, to be a changed person. Frisk did nothing but attack, and his brother had to defend himself. Frisk dodged expertly around his brother's bone attacks, completed with the alarming swipes of their weapon. They twisted and turned around the pattern of bones, completely at ease. There was an ugly smile on their face, a hint of a sick sense of attraction to pain carved into their cold face.

Sans could tell they had been doing this awful dance for a long time, because his brother just declared that he was sparing Frisk. Sans couldn't watch. He didn't want to watch. But he did not have a choice, because it was a memory, and he hated it when he never saw Papyrus. He never liked not seeing Papyrus for a long time. Even if his brother was about to be dusted, by the stars, Sans would watch him be killed by Frisk. That freak with a knife and crazy eyes.

' _oh no, paps_...' He tried hard not to look away, to watch as the crazy human child jumped at his brother and slashed at him. One hit. That was all it took. One hit and Papyrus' head flew off his body and Sans' SOUL lurched with a desperate, screaming need to save his brother. He wanted to save him, wanted to tear Frisk away from his brother. He had barely stopped himself from lunging a surprise attack, knowing that Frisk had different eyes locked onto them, not only Sans' white eyelights.

Dangerous eyes that knew what happened in each reset. That stupid yellow flower that Papyrus had confessed to telling him such kind, encouraging words and predictions of the future. Predictions that had Sans reeling with realization that it was filled with too much accuracy, too much that even magic would never be able to divine, most especially about the human that was going to appear. The yellow flower just _knew_ things. He could even possibly have begun the stupid game that Frisk seemed to enjoy doing: dusting monsters left and right, losing their senses at the variation of changes that came from diverting from a routine. Sans couldn't understand how a flower could have done such a thing, to allow Frisk to keep going on. From what he had managed to gather in every hint from Frisk's facial expressions, they knew the flower well. Knew the soulless little flower like the back of their hands.

When Frisk sharply denied Papyrus' sparing arms, Sans sobbed quietly to himself, wanting so badly to summon his blasters, to drain Frisk's growing HP into dust. He felt so afraid that if Frisk discovered he had slipped from his script, they would start doing it all over again. Frisk would have discovered a new variable in their little sick game of multiple timelines and try to find out each new one, this time with Sans knowing too much for his own good. And they would. He knew they would, because the little freak tried every single combination of events to gain knowledge about the different results it would bring them.

Sans waited for Frisk to leave. The freak had smiled clinically at his brother's death. It hadn't even been a cruel smile, or a happy smile. It had the cold, curious eyes of a child dissecting the timelines, trying to find out how many different branches they could create and destroy. Papyrus dusted and the small grains of his brother's memory, his life, the culmination of his being... it was blown away, spreading the evidence of death across the snow.

Sans clenched his hand, suppressing the overwhelming anger that suffused in his SOUL. It felt like a warming fire, slowly being brought to life in the coldness of his bones. It felt like sharp knives that needed to be released, to pierce into enemies that dared to incite the ocean of fury that made his bones burn with magic.

Once the freak finally walked away, Sans forced his immobile body to move forward. He reached his brother's dust and grabbed the scarf fluttering on the snow, in the silent wind. He fell to his patellas and touched the battle body, his fingers grazing the fragile armour.

It had never protected his brother.

A useless armour that offered no protection, only a great symbol of an innocent life lost to a wicked human. An innocent life that had helped create the armour to symbolize his own honour. His great integrity. His greatest and most merciful SOUL. His brother, Papyrus, who Sans had helped to make the armour with the intention to let his beloved brother live his dreams of being a Royal Guard.

A loved armour, still.

Sans stared numbly at his trembling hand, feeling the tears build up in his sockets. It fell down his cheekbones, and he released a shaky breath. He gripped the scarf tightly, then he buried his face into the dusty cloth.

"oh, _stars_ , paps," he murmured, his breath hitching with grief. His ribs felt wrecked with pain, SOUL aching and numb at the same time, feeling like an essential bone had been cut off. His brother, an essential part of his life... No matter the timeline, it seemed like Papyrus would always be so merciful.

The snow offered nothing but the same cold that grew within him, chasing the fire of anger away. It was the taste of a chilling rage that sparked magic in his left eye.

"why d-did they have to _kill_ you, this time? why couldn't they l-leave you alone? why, p-paps? why? you were so n-nice, you were _harmless_. you n-never even saw it coming, but you still smiled and oh... o-oh, s-stars..."

Sans curled forward, grasping one hand into the dust and allowing the dust to spread between his joints. He eyed the dust and took a handful, careful to not let it slip through his phalanges. He pocketed a handful of Papyrus' beautiful dust. His brother, so reduced that Sans could fit only a small part of him inside his pocket.

Sans laughed hysterically at the thought of his brother's memories packed in each particle of the dust in his pocket.

Another wave of fury and grief hit him at that thought, and he shook with suppressed rage, a churning scream lodged in his throat. He raised his hands and allowed his magic to take control, using magic to uproot trees. He crushed the infuriating tree, seeing only silhouettes of a laughing child, so he tore the trees violently and launched the barks across the snow, giant splinters of its trunk piercing the icy ground with the help of his blue magic. His magic turned the others into dust. A death that he wished so sorely for the child that killed his brother.

"WHY?!" he screamed out loud, no longer allowing himself the illusion of the memory being reality. The memory shook, and the edges of lines blurring with his unrestrained anger. He waited, and he waited, and he waited.

But nobody answered him.

"how... how could you?" he whispered through his teeth. He bowed his head, the white magic leaking from his sockets imitating tears. "how could you do that to him, you freak–"

Rushing footfalls interrupted him, and Sans heard a muffled shout that sounded much clearer as it slowly neared. "SANS!"

His neck cracked as his head whipped to a side. Sans' eyes widened in shock and his breath hitched in relief. His SOUL glowed powerfully, and the sense of peace engulfed his senses. His raised hands dropped to his sides. He couldn't tear his eyes away, afraid that his brother's mirage would disappear.

There, still in his pajamas, stood Papyrus. His brother's eyes were wide with surprise. He was looking around his place of death with wonder.

"SANS, WHERE ARE WE?" his brother asked, slowly approaching him, eyes suddenly locked with Sans' own empty sockets.

Sans clenched his jaw shut and stretched his hands towards his hallucination. " _p-paps_ ," he called out, the heavy sadness in his voice evident.

Papyrus started sprinting, concern evident on his brow ridge.

His brother reached him and scooped him up in his magic-filled arms. Sans started weeping into his brother's neck, his arms wrapped around his brother's shoulder, slowly being rocked side to side. His brother started humming softly, planting gentle skeleton kisses all over his skull.

"Shh... I am here, Sans. There is no need for tears. Take deep, calming breaths. I know it helps you calm down, so please follow my breathing, brother."

"p-paps," Sans whispered shakily. His brother kissed his cheek, a gentle graze of teeth that sparked with Papyrus's warm magic. He struggled to control his breathing, indescribably so relieved that his brother still lived in his memory.

"What's wrong, Sans?" Papyrus whispered tenderly, lifting Sans' tear-streaked bones. His brother's face twisted with worry, eyelights glowing orange. "What happened? Who made you cry? I have strong words to say to them."

Sans gasped for breath and continued to steady his breathing. He stared reverently at his brother's face, so expressive in its determination, then he placed his hands on his brother's temporal bone and keened in pain. His brother grasped his hands tightly, offering him unconditional support.

"th-they k-killed you, p-paps! they k-killed you again," he sobbed. "and i didn't s-stop them and now you're g-gone and i'm a-all alone. i'm so... i'm so _alone_ , p-paps. i'm... so... alone... again..."

"Brother, you are not alone!" Papyrus grasped his shoulders and urged him closer, placing his forehead against Sans' own trembling frontal bone. His brother whispered, "I am not dead, Sans. I'm here. I'm here... Whoever made you cry like this... Sans, I will never forgive them. To do such thing to someone I love dearly... Sans, there will be no mercy."

"p-paps..."

Sans gasped and everything shifted. The scenery whipped forward in time, blurring lines of the memory, shifting like Sans had used a shortcut to transport his brother and himself to their house. Sans fell against his bed and Papyrus had disappeared, but he also heard the crash somewhere downstairs.

"SANS!"

Wait. That was... That was his brother's voice. Sans glanced at his hands and saw the dusty scarf on his hands, and he felt his SOUL wane in distress. He pulled the red fabric around his neck and whispered his brother's name in the empty room. He felt like his hallucinations started to get worse, mostly in his... dreams. His psyche probably twisted from all the deaths he had seen, dreaming up his brother's voice in this cruel memory.

"SANS, BROTHER, WHERE ARE YOU?"

' _Paps_...?' He startled.

He stared at his ceiling with numb shock, then he scrambled off his bed and lunged for his door, nearly tripping in his haste to go down the stairs.

He found his brother looking at the shattered television on the floor, and Sans couldn't help but rush forward and crush his brother's back against his ribs, ignoring the yelp his brother made.

"Sans, what on..." his brother trailed off, allowing his hands to grip Sans' arms. "Sans, allow me to turn around. Please..." Papyrus requested gently, caressing his bones with gentle phalanges.

Sans shook his head. He almost couldn't believe it. His brother's will... it seemed to have deeply touched his SOUL that his mind started crafting an anchor for his thoughts. His brother, who had desperately wished for a way to protect him in his dreams. His brother's words... it must have clicked something in Sans' subconscious for Papyrus to have manifested as a dream in a memory.

His brother had stealthily lodged himself in Sans' subconscious, and now he wasn't alone. He wasn't going to suffer the memory alone.

"paps..." Sans murmured, allowing his eyelights to reappear. "paps, you... your _real_ self just... he... he just... gave me a better dream...!"

He gasped as his brother twisted in his arms. He looked up and saw his brother smiling down at him. Sans flushed with magic, because Papyrus looked back at him so tenderly.

"What else should the Great Papyrus do but help his brother?" his brother asked rhetorically, placing a hand on Sans' cheekbones. Sans closed his sockets and leaned to the touch, feeling oddly reassured even if his brother's hand wasn't wrapped with his regular red gloves. Papyrus seemed to glow with contentment at his actions. "Nyeh heh heh... You are not alone, Sans. Whatever you fear, we shall face them together!"

"paps..." He felt like a flood of calm filled his SOUL. His brother was here. Here, in his dreams, in his memories.

Sans leaned upward and nuzzled his brother's jaw tenderly. His brother heated with realistic magic, and Sans felt his soul glowing with affection, erasing everything in his emotions but the feeling of being cherished by his brother, who leaned down to nuzzle him back.

"Yes, Sans? What is it that you wish to tell me?"

"you... you made a dream in my memories... th-that's... that is so _cool_ , bro..." Sans whispered, gently pulling away to look at his brother's pajamas. His brother beamed happily in response. Sans shuddered and went back to hang on to his brother's neck.

"i... i was... remembering the resets again," he confessed to the dream-Papyrus, feeling relieved that he could tell at least one version of his brother about the resets. His brother cocked a confused browridge and nodded for him to continue on.

"it's the typical bad memories," Sans added quickly. "everyone dying, you dying, the human escaping the underground after they've killed me..."

His brother continued to look befuddled. "Sans, I'm afraid I have no understanding of your situation," his brother said carefully, allowing Sans to digest his words. "What are resets? Why do I know nothing of the events of this happening, if it is a part of your memory? I... I have never seen this happen before, brother. It concerns me greatly that I do not remember. I do believe you, Sans, it is just... I have no memory of this."

Papyrus looked at him with attentive sockets, waiting for an explanation. Sans blinked in thought, wondering if this dream creation acted so much like his brother that even he did not know about the resets. It acted like a new visitor to his memories, which was true, tibia honest. His new dream creation started to exist only recently, after all.

"i guess i should start from the beginning," Sans whispered, lowering his sight to his brother's clavicle, feeling the threat of being consumed by the greed that made him want to simply stare at his brother forever. "frisk fell down the first time and accidentally killed someone. they sorta continued on to asgore and i let that mistake pass on, but... but the day after they passed through the barrier and took the human souls with them, the world reset. frisk came again, but this time they killed more. i don't know why, but they continued the pattern of random killings..."

Sans explained to his dream brother about how Frisk slowly turned demented, dusting each and every monster on their way. Sans gave Papyrus the number of times he saw his young brother die at the hands of the freak, and then the number of times he killed the freak to prevent them from causing even more deaths. Sans explained parts that had his brother gasping with indignation, especially the part where he continued keeping patterns so he would know what to do with Frisk. He explained about his odd ability to remember the memories of the previous timelines, which was why he was being a 'lazybones', completely disenchanted by the world to be productive, because he knew time would reset.

It always reset. Any progress he made was wiped out. Every new friendship, every new memory, every pattern of death... Everything reset. No one else seemed to remember it but him, Papyrus' flower friend and the kid.

"they might remember it a little," Sans added thoughtfully, remembering times where it seemed like Papyrus recognized the kid for a split second. "like memories that seem familiar, but it never gets to the point where it makes them remember. it's like they're grasping for a memory, but the memory is too intangible, even if they can see a glimpse of it."

During his explanation, Papyrus' face had slowly twisted with shock and belief. It was an expression that Sans had never expected to happen, but it also made him feel relieved. At least a dream construct of his brother would believe him.

"Why... Why have you never told this to me?" Papyrus looked a little wounded, maybe a little understanding. He looked like he already knew Sans' answer.

"it's... i was scared," he whispered quietly, glancing away from his brother's face. He didn't know what he would do if his brother did not like his answer. He forced himself to look back, though. To look into his brother's sockets and tell the truth. "i... i-i didn't have proof, paps. i wasn't just gonna go and tell you about it, considering the murderous events in the previous timelines... i didn't want _you_ to be burdened by the resets, too. besides that, sometimes you looked like you would believe frisk before you believed me."

Sans felt guilt settle heavily on his shoulders at the loving expression on his brother's sockets. Sans' grin strained on his mouth, and he tried to keep a positive expression, but it failed to hold. Even his brother looked at him weirdly.

His brother leaned forward and carefully tapped his teeth on his frontal bone.

"Sans," he whispered, caressing Sans' cheekbones. Sans startled at the affectionate contact. Papyrus smiled at him gently, compassion evident in the expression on his face. "You have carried this secret with you for so long. You are Sans, my _strong_ , resilient brother... I have never quite understood what burdens you carried. You... You are so much more complex than I have unveiled. Each time I think I have solved your character, another highly advanced puzzle simply appears to take its place."

"sorry," Sans apologized guiltily, unable to take his gaze away from his brother's merciful smile. His brother tilted his head and met his eyelights.

"Sans, I understand why you kept such tragic secret," Papyrus began, leaning forward to nuzzle his temple before pulling away. His sockets looked gentle, so filled with unrestrained affection and forgiveness. Sans flushed bashfully, lowering his gaze onto the collar of his brother's blue pajama top.

"t-thanks, paps," Sans said quietly. His brother simply stared at him with a familiar look on his face, a subtle twist, one that always led to Sans hearing heart-rending sincerity laced with flustering words.

' _oh, paps, no..._ '

"I admire your strength, brother..." Papyrus began, voice filled with intense determination. Filled with so much trust and belief. "To suffer through these 'RESET' timelines, to see each monster die, to try to keep your promise to the lady behind the door, to stop the human from advancing... Brother, you are truly so commendable, so awe-inspiring, so observant when you are standing in the face of your burdens. Your integrity is absolute, and yet, you are still ever so filled with the justice that fueled your patience, your empathy to understand so much more than what one monster can perceive. I find you so inspirational in the way you have handled your fears alone... Brother, you are so complex in SOUL, and I find myself so completely captivated by you."

Sans' skull flushed with his magic, and his mind scattered with an inner scream.

' _i knew it..._ '

Sans buried his blushing face into his brother's collar, muffling a sound of embarrassment. He felt Papyrus curling his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing soothingly.

Papyrus laughed shyly. "Brother, why hide your face?" Papyrus question, his voice sounding slightly breathless. "You know it is true. The Great Papyrus has an undeniable _weakness_ for complex puzzles. And you, my dearest brother, are completely intricate in design. An elaborate labyrinth with a multitude of paths that lead to interesting destinations. And this, brother... Sans, it is only a new part of what I have already discovered. I am not angry. I am glad to know about this. I feel so relieved that you have told me of this, because I am able to help you face your fears."

"paps," he whispered against his brother's neck. He turned his head and faced his brother's shoulder. "paps, really... you're so cool."

The memory shifted so suddenly, and this time, Sans found himself standing beside his brother to face the kid and their freaky smile. They had relocated in the Hall of Judgement, which it dawned to Sans that they were following his shortcut pattern. The dream-Papyrus reached out and gripped his hand, watching the child approach.

"Is this what happens, brother?"

"uh, yeah. but the angle... it's like i'm seeing through..."

A memory of a Sans appeared across the hall, covered in the shadows of the pillars.

"we're seeing it through my blaster's sight," Sans explained, glancing up at his brother. "it's part of my magic, and i designed them to act like watchers. that's why i can still 'see' things even if i'm sleeping. my skeleton self could sleep, but my dreams could be... like this. watching everything go by."

Papyrus looked at him like he heard something else. "So... When you are napping at your sentry stations..." Papyrus trailed off. Sans knew what he meant.

"oh yeah, i can still keep track of the monsters. i can access the blaster's memories like one of my own. it's how i know if someone wrong passes by. i have a team of blasters hidden in the ruins to keep track of the kid when they fall down. they're there, but no one can see them unless i want them to be seen."

"Brother, that is impressive," his brother said. Sans could discern from his expression that he hadn't realized just to what extent Sans' magic could achieve. He looked awed, gazing at him with admiring sockets.

Sans shrugged, feeling flattered and flustered that such a simple thing impressed his brother.

Movement caught his attention, and he glanced back at the memory of him.

"let's just get to the point." The memory-Sans engaged the human in battle, and Sans felt that his brother, despite being a dream construct, shouldn't see that side of him. Summoning blasters, dangerous bones with the intent to kill.

He turned his skull away from the battle, burying his face into his brother's side. His brother let go of his hand and wrapped his arms around him. He trembled at the sounds of his blasters releasing sharp beams, of the human hitting bones and the sound of healing. He heard his voice speaking the scripted words, so utterly familiar with each syllable that fell from his teeth. He heard the human reach the end of the script, where he had felt so tired and simply did nothing.

He had given up by that time, because that had been the first script. To give a test to the child that had murdered so many monsters so coldly. To allow the child a chance to prove him wrong. To allow the child to change in each timeline. To allow a future where everyone would live.

He shook when he heard his parting words, and Papyrus gripped him more tightly, breathing heavily against the top of his skull. Sans could feel the tears drop on his head, sliding down his skull. The memory shifted again, and Sans found himself seated in his sentry station, while Papyrus stood beside him.

He looked up and hurriedly held his brother closely, rubbing his back. Papyrus sniffled and teared up further.

"shh, paps. i'm still here. i'm alive..." Sans murmured gently, feeling oddly determined to shake his memory apart and make Papyrus find the happier ones.

Papyrus' breath hitched with sadness. "S-Sans, the human has done these things to you? Have they... Have they always killed you? Is... Is that why you said you always followed the script? Did you mean... Did you mean that you died in the end?"

Sans leaned up and wiped his brother's tears away. "paps, sometimes i kill them back, you know? sometimes i give them mercy even if they killed one person, and that person might be you. i... i don't touch them unless their level is around sixteen and above. only then do i fight them, because i needed to give them a pattern. a boring world won't interest them, after all."

"THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE SO IN THE FIRST PLACE," Papyrus denounced sharply, his sockets glowing with magic. Sans curled his phalanges behind his brother's neck. Indignation and righteousness sparked brightly in his magic. "THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE KILLED ALL THOSE INNOCENT MONSTERS–"

"hey, paps, come lean down for a bit," he interrupted, unwilling to allow his brother to sink into such thoughts.

Reflexively, his brother followed his orders without question, and Sans planted a skeleton kiss between his sockets. His brother flushed brightly with magic, staring at him with stunned sockets, where the evidence of his magic had disappeared.

"B-brother...?"

"i kept thinking like that, too. what if it's because monsters attacked them first? what if they had evil humans up on the surface and the kid was a victim? what if the kid was just really misguided about life and death? what if they thought it would be funny if they killed my brother, just to see my reaction?"

"Sans..."

"bro, thinking like that..." Sans sighed and allowed himself to graze his teeth on Papyrus' cheekbones. Somehow, the motion calmed him down almost instantly, and he felt more aware of his thoughts. "it's kinda tiring, paps. i stopped wondering. i had no answer. if i try to ask them, that would break the script. that could also start another reset. there are many variables i haven't probably even discovered. frisk has the power to reset, and with that comes the ability to do it on a whim."

"Is..." Papyrus began hesitantly. Sans felt his brother's phalanges trace little circles on his cheekbones absent-mindedly. "Is this why you always seem reserved when the human is in the house?"

Sans couldn't deny that, so he nodded with the slightest of movement. "i... i didn't want to leave the kid alone with you," he admitted in a small voice. "i... i don't want them anywhere they aren't being watched. i have a blaster following them all the time, checking for that craziness they had in the previous timelines."

Papyrus said nothing to that, only leaning closer to tap his teeth on Sans' forehead, cradling him closer by the shoulders.

"i... i really want you safe, you know? i'm kinda scared that... if i kept following the script, i might end up in the last of this weird curse, and that kid... that kid could have dusted you and i... i don't ever want you gone, papyrus. you... you're kinda the only good thing i have in every timeline."

Papyrus looked flushed with magic, probably affected by his words. "You are very important to me, too. Sans, you are the most important person in my life."

Sans blushed, but he grinned more widely. "you're my important person, too."

• • •

When Sans woke up, both his and his brother's souls were glowing beneath their respective ribs. He smiled at his brother's sleeping face, kissing his cheek careful and whispering his thanks.

His brother's wish had come true, after all. Maybe now, his dreams would be safe.

* * *

 

(When Papyrus opened his eyes, he held his brother tightly against his chest, soul fluttering in his ribs.

That had been so close. One little move and he could have met Sans' kiss with his own. Perhaps then, he would finally know what it felt to kiss his brother fully, to consume him and allow his brother's moans to encourage him further. To let Sans see what exactly his affectionate touch did to his SOUL.

But first...

First, he would need a plan to deal with Frisk's terrible manners. He did say he would never let them get away with what they've done to his brother.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mistakes mine. I probably made a lot of them!
> 
> Oh, wow! 83 kudos for a little story! Thank you for your show of support, skeleton friends! Tibia-nest, I never really expected much kudos, maybe 5 or 10? That was it xD I didn't know almost 83 people liked it. Or more, based on the hits.
> 
> Thanks, skeleton friends. You bring the bros in skelebros.
> 
> If you like this, I'm doing something fun for my other story, The Judge of Souls. That one has a secret identity theme: Sans and the Royal Judge are the same monster, but no one knows. Papyrus wants to know, so... Stalking. *snickers*


	7. ...a little protective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus has been pranking Frisk like a vengeful little brother aiming to make his older brother feel proud.
> 
> Sans is proud of his bro. When has he ever not been proud? Those pranks, the blackmail photos he took for fun... Welp. Sans had so much fun putting titles on those.
> 
> Papyrus trains with Undyne. She goes a little overboard, but of course Sans saves his bro from his fish friend.
> 
> Still, when did his brother get those stats?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got into this story so much. I wanted something else on the end, but... Um. Writing zone. 
> 
> They don't let you decide things. I'm not telling how long this is. Subscribers know exactly how many words it took to end.

Paps had seemed to act differently during the weeks of preparation to meet the humans. He seemed to have fixated on being near Frisk, all the time. Walking, talking, eating... everywhere Frisk went, Papyrus had become like a shadow.

Sans had inwardly panicked when he noticed the new pattern of his brother following Frisk around. It made Sans' soul tremble with worry to think that his brother was so close to a murderous kid, following them off to the unknown. He had taken it to himself to follow them, saying that Tori would probably want two monsters to protect Frisk instead of just one. One strong guard and one backup punster to keep them all entertained.

Papyrus had looked ecstatic at his suggestion that he also follow them around. After seeing his brother's enthusiastic agreement, Sans didn't have the heart to tell his brother about his motives of keeping Frisk in line if they ever look at his brother the wrong way.

To start their little three-person journey, they were going to walk around Snowdin to disassemble the traps, because it would seem like a threat to the humans if they ever visited.

Sans thought it should stay, mostly the ones that could actually do some way to trap them, and probably the ones that could do actual damage.

He didn't really feel _safe_ without the traps.

He'd seen the human documentaries. He knew humans had overpopulated on the surface and took what they wanted. Sure, they could slowly break down the bias of their societies, but the weirder the person, the more hatred they get for being different. Nothing could be more different than monsters.

Sans expected a lot of hatred, fear and prejudice to greet them. Of course, some of them would probably think they were cool. Humans had so many movies about magic. Unfortunately, some of them also had scenes where magic was being dissected and abused.

That kind of thing would really hit his brother hard. To know that humans could be both so cruel and kind...

Papyrus should never have to deal with that kind of thing.

Fortunately or not, anything extracted from monsters would turn to dust. Humans would never get anything. The culmination of a monster's soul protected itself from that kind of invasive procedure. Sans knew Gaster and Alphys had tried. Sans himself had tried to extract some kind of marrow from his bones, but it only turned to dust and he had to eat a lot of monster food to keep his one HP from falling while he had done it.

Never again.

Still, he learned that monster dust was made of something really rare, something part magic and crystalline dust. He couldn't tell much with the equipment they had, but he tried enough to discern the small, crystal-like dust that looked (under a powerful microscope) as if it contained little constellations of the monster's culmination in its protective shell.

It would have been very difficult to alter the genes, however, since one cell of dust would turn to an even more smaller dust. The more he had tried to penetrate his dust with a syringe to extract the constellation, the more the dust turned tinier and tinier, until it could barely be seen by their strongest microscope or scanner, even if the constellation had stayed the same.

Sans sighed and turned over in his bed, wondering if he could just slip into his brother's bed and nap away. His brother wasn't using it, after all... But no, that would be rude. His brother's room had all those ' _NO BOYS ALLOWED_ ' signs for a purpose, and one of them was to keep Sans away.

He lifted his skull and blinked at the wall, an idea in his head piquing him.

Could he take a shortcut in Papyrus' room and take a really, _really_ short nap in his brother's bed?

As if summoned, Papyrus' annoyed face entered his mind. Sans snickered, imagining just how much his brother would complain about the crumpled sheets, the smell of Sans evident on the bed, the pillow being flat and probably something about Sans napping naked, or just being in the room when the door did not let him in.

He snuggled back in his bare bed and tucked his naked bones further in the comforter, smiling softly. At least he didn't have his bones trying to eat the flimsy sheets anymore.

Being a restless sleeper, he could only deal with so many times waking up to his bones tangled in sheets. Only Paps could hold him together when they slept together in the same bed, because they had always gotten used to being so near each other. Sans' unconscious body would gravitate to his brother's side and the next time he woke up, they would be up in each other's arms, cozy and warm. No sheets stuffed between his ribs or any of his joints.

Sans alone, though... His bones would eat clothing while he slept. It had started after the resets, and he had to strip his bed of sheets because of his erratic movements. His joints would pinch his shirt, or his shirt would fall into his ribs and get little rips from the bones. So... All the clothes that could easily slip between his bones had to go.

Luckily, he still had one large, monster-made hoodie that Papyrus had given him, and that one he had tested as a success. A black cloth made from spider silk, mixed with other silk-like combinations and magic silk that made it impossible to get between his bones. It was like it was fully tailored for his bones only.

It never got eaten, but he didn't want to risk it, so he just stayed naked under a large comforter.

Paps was really lucky he didn't share Sans' sleeping habits.

• • •

Sans had woken up so early in the morning.

He'd sleepily dressed himself, then headed down the stairs and napped on the couch. Paps had woken him up and told him his clothes had been backwards. He'd groaned dazedly, then he stripped his jacket and shirt, flipping it back on the right side and wearing it. He flopped back on the couch, then stared daringly at his brother.

Paps had blushed and told him to change in private.

Sans had told him he was too tired to go back up, so he changed right then and there. When Sans had reached out to turn out his pants, his brother excused himself hastily and went out to fetch Frisk.

Sans had snickered at his brother's odd shyness. They've dressed in the same room before, so Sans had no idea why his brother had felt shy. Maybe his brother had some kind of sticker on his bones? A tattoo?

Nah.

If anything, Papyrus probably wanted him to preserve his _modesty_.

Sans had hurriedly redressed himself and caught up to his brother, who had already met Frisk ten paces out of the house. They had started out on their little journey with Frisk narrating how the human world worked.

Some of them, Sans had already known, so he tuned them out when Frisk started going on about human courtships. Sans thought humans were weird, and he didn't really want to know what humans did in private... Or public, by the way Frisk knew things about it.

Monsters and humans weren't the same, after all. They had different kinds of traditions when it came to the romance stuff. Sans didn't think he'd need to know any of those, though. He slept through Gaster's lecture about anatomy and reproduction.

He could care less for such things, only his brother and science. They had needed his attention more than anyone else.

"OH, NO, _HUMAN_!" his brother shouted in alarm.

Sans snapped out of his thoughts and immediately went to his brother's side, panicking, but from his observations, nothing sinister was happening. Paps looked okay, he didn't seem to be hurt, but there was a splash of red on the ground that had momentarily seemed like blood and Frisk...

Frisk had fallen into the large dug-up hole filled with spaghetti sauce and noodles, covered heavily in leaves and feathers. They fell into a hole... In the Underground. In Snowdin. And the spaghetti still looked quite warm.

' _oh stars_.'

Sans felt the fierce laughter bubbling in his throat, and he looked at his brother, who was... Well, he looked apologetic, but that minuscule smirk on his face... _no_.

Sans' sockets widened in disbelief. ' _no_ ,' he thought with a hint of incredulity. His brother wouldn't stoop so low... would he? He wouldn't just go around playing pranks on unsuspecting people, would he? Then again, Papyrus would have simply set the trap somewhere safer, and he wouldn't be making that face if he hadn't meant for this to happen.

Sans eyed his brother in understanding, then turned to grin widely at the human, who looked terribly put-off by the state of their clothes. The human huffed and tried to swim to an edge, but it was too slimy for them to grab onto. They slipped and bumped their face on the cold, muddy soil and snow, completely painting their face with a weird brown and red gunk.

Sans tried desperately to hold in his laughter, but he couldn't stop a few snickers from escaping. The human glared at him, but then more feathers seemed to puff out of the tree above the hole and stuck to the kid's face. A pasta noodle slipped down their forehead and landed on the tip of their nose.

"oh _stars_ ," he breathed. Somehow, that little image seemed just so _hilarious_ and it made him clutch his ribs more tightly, covering his mouth with his metacarpals.

Papyrus rushed to the edge of the hole, but Sans reached out and grabbed his red scarf with his free hand, just in case he needed to pull his brother away.

"I APOLOGIZE, HUMAN!" Papyrus exclaimed in a contrite tone. "I HAD NOT KNOWN YOU WOULD JUMP INTO MY TRAP AND ACTIVATE IT BY ACCIDENT! I DID NOT REALIZE THAT HUMANS HAD A STRANGE ATTRACTION TO A PILE OF FEATHERS AND LEAVES! ALSO, HUMAN... WOWIE! I KNEW YOU HUMANS LIKED SPAGHETTI, BUT THIS A SURPRISE!"

" _strange attraction to spaghetti_ ," Sans whispered to himself, shoulders shaking with mirth, imagining humans just going around and jumping into holes full of spaghetti and feathers. Then he imagined humans dancing with a plateful of spaghetti, and it nearly broke his restraint.

His brother continued on apologizing, but at the thought of his brother actually pranking the little kid and succeeding to mislead them from that fact, Sans finally cracked and started laughing.

" _o-oh my stars_ , paps, this is... this is _gold_ ," Sans said through his laughter, voice going slightly high-pitched.

Frisk glared sullenly, crossing their arms and sending little bits of pasta noodles into their sleeve. Then they suddenly squealed in surprise, saying that the spaghetti went into their clothes. Sans watched as they made a face of disgust and groaned, covering their face with their hands.

It left red imprints on their face, which seemed to bother them even more as they tried to scrape it away. It only left more spaghetti sauce on their face, like it had been mixed with something extremely sticky.

Sans cackled, and his brother seemed to shake with restrained laughter. "oh _wow_. oh wow, i _need_ to take a picture of this moment. no one will believe me if i told them this happened."

Sans immediately grabbed his phone from his pocket and took a photo of the disgruntled little kid in the weird spaghetti pond. Although... they looked more like a disgruntled little chicken, what with the feathers and leaves poking out of the _nest_ they call a hair. The kid said something about a spaghetti pool, signing along with their words.

"oh, k-kiddo, wow. you look _nesty_. i think you better go and take a shower. i think you're _molting_!" Sans wheezed.

"SANS!" Papyrus exclaimed reproachfully.

His brother looked at him in indignation, but Sans noticed there was a twist on his teeth, the hint of a knowing smile. Sans felt his bones warming up at the sight of that smile.

His brother stood up, and somehow even the simple move had triggered a hidden mechanism, because glitter suddenly dumped onto the human's head. The kid squawked in surprise, completely splattered by the shimmery substance.

Sans laughed even harder, ignoring the human that had started talking and signing to help them out. His brother winked slyly at him, then grabbed a branch that was just conveniently next to the hole. Papyrus stretched the branch towards Frisk and dragged them up.

Sans' laughter finally tapered off into wheezing giggles, tears of mirth abundant at the edges of his sockets.

When Papyrus finally pulled the child back onto safer grounds, he helped Frisk settle on the snow. A loud popping noise sounded, and suddenly a rush of sequence fell from the tree, followed by a handful of cherries. It all landed on Frisk's head.

Both the kid and his brother exchanged horrified looks.

Sans cracked up again, leaning his side heavily against Papyrus' stable frame and taking multiple blurry photos of the kid.

"p-paps, o-oh stars... ha ha ha! p-paps, look at the _cherries on top_... on top of their head... s-stars, it's a p-picture of a joke, i c-can't breathe...! i... i'm a _skeleton_ , p-paps! ha ha ha!"

His brother must have groaned in false distress, because Sans could feel the suppressed laughter rattling his brother's bones.

It clicked sharply in his mind.

Sans could understand what happened and felt a wildfire of excitement blooming in his chest, a sort of pride that came with fondness and appreciation.

Oh stars, his brother had played the kid _good_.

"HUMAN, I AM SINCERELY DISAPPOINTED THAT YOU ARE MAKING A MESS OF YOURSELF AFTER YOU HAD JUST BEEN SO CLEAN! THE QUEEN WOULD BE SO DISAPPOINTED..." Papyrus trailed off.

Sans' sockets widened in surprise when his brother affected a look of distraught, furthering his act and talking to Frisk about cleanliness. He told them not jumping into suspicious piles of feathers and leaves the next time in the Underground.

Frisk insisted that it was safe. Sans knew that they were thinking of all the traps Papyrus had set up in the previous timelines. He wasn't about to tell them about this trap being new. If they weren't observant enough to notice the still-warm spaghetti, he wasn't saying anything.

"STILL, HUMAN," Papyrus began with a reproachful tone, "I MUST INSIST THAT YOU ALLOW YOUR ENTHUSIASM TO JUMP INTO THE UNKNOWN TO REST FOR A WHILE! LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TODAY. I HAVE NOT KNOWN THIS ODD HUMAN TRADITION OF JUMPING INTO PILES OF FEATHERS, AND NOW YOU ARE UNCLEAN!"

Sans eyed his brother with admiration. _Wow_ , his brother really had it in him. He hadn't known his brother could orchestrate something like this. In the previous timelines, his brother hadn't even done anything similar to this.

Then, he wondered if this was the last time he would see his brother prank the kid and he inwardly deflated. Another reset would take it all, and his brother would never even remember it. Sans couldn't handle the thought that his brother would also forget how much they had bonded in this timeline. Papyrus would be back to his less affectionate self, and Sans would be back at his sentry place, cursing the kid inside his head and selfishly wished his brother would remember at least the jokes he'd played on others. Papyrus wouldn't be as expressive, maybe back to his less perceptive self.

Sans felt sadness well up in his intangible throat. He shook his head. _Oh no_. He'd gone and depressed himself again. With Papyrus around, too. Sans' grin wavered and he looked away from the scene, rubbing a hand over the zipper of his hoodie.

He wondered lightly if Frisk would kill him in this timeline, or if Paps would get a new kind of death. Maybe they'd get matching deaths, this time? A swift knife to the neck? A knife in the rib?

He frowned sharply at the thought of his brother dying and glowered at the ground.

No one would be spared if anyone harmed his brother. To hell with keeping the RESETs a secret. He would definitely find a way to make their life miserable.

Thinking too deeply in his thoughts, he missed his brother's sockets narrow at his actions.

• • •

The next three days later, he had to wake up even more earlier than yesterday. The kid was going to visit the house, for some reason. Sans didn't care to know.

He'd locked all his doors and kept the kid entertained away from those doors. He got the kid tired by the time it reached nightfall, so Sans had taken a nap on the couch with blasters hidden in a fabric of space, watching through their eyes while his body rested. He felt confident that his brother would call him over if he needed help.

However, just as he was dreaming of ketchup and spaghetti dancing together, he heard muffled footsteps from the second floor of the house. He inwardly groaned. His brother had just started making dinner and the kid was about to be alone with his brother if he stayed in his resting formation.

"OH NO, _HUMAN_!" Papyrus shrieked in shock.

The sharpness of his brother's voice ringing in his head jolted him out of his nap on the couch. He sprinted to his brother's side at the kitchen doorway, eyelights sharply observing the scene before him. Papyrus looked well, not even a scratch on him. He didn't even look anywhere near beheaded.

He turned to the stairs and he saw a red-skinned Frisk descending the stairs. The contrast of their red skin and their regular striped shirt made an ugly combination. They had an exasperated pout on their face and a tiny furrow on their brows.

Sans quickly glanced at his brother with wide sockets, immediately suspicious.

The smallest twitch on his brother's jaw betrayed him.

Sans burst into loud guffaws of laughter, slumping against his brother's side, bony hands against his ribs.

Frisk pouted heavily, signing and saying something about red stuff in the bathroom shower's nozzle.

"oh _stars_ , what..." Sans began between giggles. "what _happened_ to you?! what have you done to look so _red_? are you... are you _femur_ ish?"

Papyrus looked like he was doing his best to appear concerned, but there was the smallest quiver in his movement, as if he was trying not to laugh, too. Sans just laughed even harder at his brother's attempt to stay collected.

Oh, _stars_. His brother had done it again. Accident or no, this was amazing! He had to add it to the album.

"DID YOU NOT READ THE NOTE ON THE BATHROOM DOOR...?" Papyrus questioned delicately. Frisk said and signed that they didn't see any note on the door. His brother affected a look of shock and disbelief. "WHAT? THAT IS _IMPOSSIBLE_! I JUST WROTE THAT NOTE BEFORE I WENT TO SLEEP! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE IS NO NOTE? I HAVE WRITTEN A NOTE THAT SAID THE SHOWER IS IN REPAIR! I HAD BEEN TESTING A DYE TO HELP ME CREATE MORE USEFUL SEMI-PERMANENT MARKERS TO HELP ME MAKE CHECKPOINTS AND... AND NOW, YOU ARE RED!"

Frisk said out loud and signed, " _I didn't see a sign_." They shook their head and pointed to the stairs, shrugging uncomfortably.

Sans continued to laugh. "they... oh stars, my ribs... they didn't see a _sign_. and they're just _signing it_ ," he choked out, shoulders shaking with his mirth. "oh stars, paps. oh wow. wow, this is _great_. i need to add this to the new album."

He took his phone out and quickly snapped a picture, adding it to the growing album of pranks his brother had 'accidentally' unleashed on the human. He titled it, 'red-handed frisk'. The victim and the mastermind of the prank ignored him completely, and he counted that as a success. He had taken a lot of evidence, just to make sure it didn't look fake.

"WELL THAT IS UNFORTUNATE, HUMAN! IT MUST HAVE BEEN THAT BLASTED ANNOYING DOG!" Papyrus complained loudly, glaring at the stairs. "I SHALL GO AND WRITE THE NOTE AGAIN. FOR NOW, PLEASE AVOID THE BATHROOM!"

• • •

The next few days after that, Sans had woken up at a reasonable time. He had crawled out of his bed, feeling terrible and still sleepy. He hadn't been able to hold on to his blaster's sight, mind dragged instead into memories of resets that ended up with his brother being beheaded.

It must have been from last night. Frisk had insisted on a sleepover and Papyrus had enthusiastically agreed. Sans had another minor panic attack in private before he decided to get revenge. Sans had stayed up read the kid a story, staring with empty sockets.

His brother had chosen the stories with evil villains, the ones that always had his brother exclaiming how the villains should be ashamed of themselves, how they should have befriended the heroes instead. If they'd sent the heroes away for a forced vacation, only evil villains would have been left. Then what would the world be? It would be utter chaos and sadness, and no one left would be nice to each other and all the good things would be gone.

Sans particularly liked the part where Papyrus had vehemently protested the villain's actions that led to the forced vacation of two orphaned children who viewed each other as siblings. Papyrus had said he would never forgive such an unforgivable act, and Frisk's face had turned ashen.

"THEY WERE JUST PAINTING WALLS, BROTHER," Papyrus had said in deep sadness. Sans had felt so desperately amused, because he could see right through his brother's acting. "WHY WOULD THE VILLAIN DO SUCH A HORRID THING? I THINK WITH LITTLE BELIEF, THEY COULD DO ANYTHING! TO THINK THAT THOSE POOR SIBLINGS TOOK SEPARATE VACATIONS... THEY SHOULD STAY TOGETHER! SO MANY WALLS COULD BE PAINTED MORE QUICKLY WITH SUCH A COMPLEMENTARY PAIR!"

Frisk had slowly looked less and less interested in the story, face twisting with guilt and shame. Sans had continued on to the next part, where the villain planted evil seeds and it grew to be vicious and unrestrained. He ignored the way Frisk tucked their small body closer into the blankets on the inflated mattress.

"IT IS LIKE LEAVING A SPOILED TOMATO IN A BAG OF BETTER TOMATOES," Papyrus had explained patiently to the guilty-looking Frisk. Papyrus gestured his hands to the ceiling. "IF YOU SPREAD THAT KIND OF EVIL IN THE VICINITY, SOONER OR LATER, EVERYONE WOULD BE EVIL AND NO ONE WOULD TRUST THAT EVIL TOMATO."

"paps, i don't think _tomatoes_ work that way," Sans had replied with humour.

"YES IT DOES!!!" Papyrus had insisted with passion. "IF YOU ADD SPOILED FOOD INTO FRESH FOOD, THERE IS MORE OF A CHANCE FOR CONTAMINATION!"

The kid visibly shrank further under their blanket.

Sans had chuckled lightly. "you need to clear it up for me, though," Sans had said. "i like tomatoes. i don't use them as an example for evilness."

"IF A VILLAIN HAD DONE TERRIBLE THINGS, NO ONE WOULD TRUST THEM, AND IF THEY WERE ROLE MODELS, MANY WOULD SEE THAT THEY ARE RIGHT WHEN THEY ARE WRONG!" Papyrus had replied shortly after taking deep breaths. "IF A HERO DOES GOOD THINGS, EVERYONE KNOWS THEY ARE GOOD MONSTERS AND IF THEY ARE ROLE MODELS, MORE GOOD PEOPLE WILL KNOW GOOD FROM BAD!"

"okay, paps. if you say so..."

Sans had clenched his hands firmly on the book, reciting the words of the familiar story.

If Papyrus knew what kind of brother he had, would he have said differently? Sans didn't know. He felt like he didn't want to know the answer to that question. If Paps discovered his brother had killed a _child_...

Sans shuddered on the couch, tucking his knees closer to himself as he planted his bony feet on the cushion.

Sans had continued the story until the very end, where the hero had risen from the depths of the despair of every monster and saved the day. The two sibling monsters came home from their forced vacation, the villain's kind mother had returned to her cottage, and everyone that had to be forced on a vacation just suddenly came back.

Sans wouldn't ever read a story where everyone _disappeared_. Happy endings or books about puzzles... His brother deserved so much happiness, and only the _best_ puzzles around.

Papyrus didn't need horrible kinds of dreams at night.

After all was said and done, he had bid them both a good night, left several blasters hidden in the room and went back into his own room.

He had slept. Then, he had those nightmares again. In those dreams, he did nothing but watch as Papyrus got dusted. He did nothing but lie on his brother's dust in the snow, staring emptily at his brother's red scarf. He did nothing but wait for another reset. Another day to see his brother.

It felt like years in an _empty_ world. Sans could tell it had been the result of reading the story about the two brothers that took a forced vacation.

Now, he was washing away those dreams with MTT dramas on re-runs. The robot was ridiculously hilarious when he wanted to be. The parts where Mettaton had nearly killed Frisk still made him shudder, though. No one should be burdened with that kind of responsibility.

Monsters thought it had been a realistic effect on the show, but it hadn't been.

"SANS," Papyrus called out from the kitchen, sounding a little too worried. Sans lifted his skull, sharply listening for anything suspicious and activating his blasters near Papyrus to see through their eyes. "HAVE YOU USED THE TUBE OF TOOTHPASTE THAT WAS IN THE BATHROOM CUPBOARD? IT'S MISSING!"

Sans blinked at the static of the television then turned to his brother, who exited the kitchen, with a look of confusion. No, they did not leave toothpaste in the bathroom cupboards. Papyrus always seemed to keep them stocked up behind the hidden compartment of the mirror above the sink.

"paps, what do you mean? we don't put that in the–"

A muffled sound of disgust came from the bathroom, and both Sans and his brother stiffened. They looked at each other with wide sockets, then they were off (though Sans slipped into his slippers), sprinting together up the stairs and to the open bathroom door.

His brother reached the door first, flinging it open with the force of three-hundred Undynes vowing to protect Alphys.

"oh no paps look ou– _oof_!"

Sans bumped into his brother's back and grabbed his brother's pauldrons for stability, nearly slipping on his _slippers_ in the process until one of Papyrus' hands steadied him gently without looking away from the bathroom.

Sans could hear the sink running, based on the sound of spitting going on.

"OH NO," Papyrus gasped in dismay, staring at the kid inside the bathroom and _still_ blocking the doorway.

Sans peeked from behind him, seeing only Frisk spitting into the sink and gargling water to rinse their mouth. He looked at his brother, whose magic sparked suspiciously with mischievousness.

"what _happened_?" Sans asked, beginning to grin to himself.

Papyrus looked accurately disappointed, except for his magic, which seemed to emanate laughter in its purest, raw form. There was a twitch in his jawbone, a small hint of triumph on his brother's sockets, the subtle trembling of his shoulders, probably restraining his laughter.

It dawned on Sans a little late, but he recognized the recently-familiar actions of his brother behaving after a successful prank.

His brother had done it again.

Frisk had fallen into another one of his brother's pranks.

"oh s-stars," Sans whispered, voice shaking with restrained laughter as Frisk glowered heavily at the sink. He slyly grabbed his phone from his pocket and took pictures, snickering.

"OH NO, HUMAN," Papyrus said with disappointment, who probably looked appropriately ashamed if not for Sans' observations. "YOU ACCIDENTALLY USED MY SPECIAL FERMENTED MAYONNAISE AS A TEETH CLEANSER! THIS TIME, I HAVE DEFINITELY PUT A NOTE ON THE CUPBOARD THAT SAYS NOT TO USE THE MAYONNAISE!"

Frisk signed and said, " _There wasn't any mayonnaise in the cupboard! I thought it was toothpaste. It said so in the label._ "

The kid raised the tube and Sans grabbed it, scenting the well-aged mayonnaise from the opening of the tube. On the label, it simply said it was toothpaste. Still, the stench of the mayonnaise should have alerted the kid, right? How in the world did they not smell that?

He glanced sharply around the room, then he breathed in the scent. Fresh lemon, so sharp and sour. The bathroom smelled like it was bathed in lemon.

How had he missed it? It didn't smell like this before. Papyrus didn't use lemon cleaners, just natural monster cleaners that offered no scent. It kept the bathroom magically clean for a week, then Paps would clean it again and...

Wait, no.

Yesterday, his brother had said he was trying something new for the bathroom. Sans had thought it was the new galaxy curtains, but no... Paps probably cleaned the bathroom with really strong lemon-scented cleaners yesterday, and it left the bathroom powerfully scented like lemons. In fact, Sans could determine it was the number one factor to the reason that Frisk did not smell the strange aroma of the mayonnaise.

"definitely _not_ toothpaste, kiddo," Sans agreed, quickly replacing the cap on the tube. Frisk signed a confident agreement, saying it out loud in tandem with their hands. "i wonder why you hadn't smelled it? it, uh, smells really strong."

"THAT MAY BE MY FAULT, SANS!" Paps groaned with shame and worry. Sans blinked in surprise at the earnestness of his brother's tone. "I WAS CLEANING YESTERDAY! THE HUMAN MOVIES SAID LEMON CLEANERS LEFT THEIR BATHROOMS FRESH AND CLEAN, SO I TRIED USING THEM! IT LEFT THE ROOM SMELLING FRESH, BUT I THINK I USED TOO MUCH IF EVEN FRISK HAD NOT DETECT THE AROMA OF MY SPECIAL FERMENTED MAYONNAISE!"

Sans could tell his brother actually meant what he said. The way his sockets had shifted into regret, the way his face had turned just slightly insecure. Even Frisk seemed to look guilty for causing that look to appear on his brother's face.

"that's okay, paps," Sans said soothingly, approaching his brother and giving him a one-arm hug. His brother still looked a little regretful. "i don't think anyone got hurt." He allowed his eyelights to disappear as he turned to Frisk. "right, _kiddo_?" he said lowly.

Frisk nodded eagerly, signing and saying, " _I'm not hurt. I washed it away quickly and I don't think it hurt. It only smelled and tasted really badly._ "

His brother looked relieved, and Sans couldn't help but wonder if his brother actually meant what he said, or if his observations had been so entirely off the chart. Maybe the trembling had been something else? Was it the trembling urge to stop crying tears of contrition?

Had his brother not meant the joke to end this far? Had Papyrus meant for the kid to actually detect the scent of the mayonnaise before they could even use it?

Sans shook his head. "hey, kiddo, why don't you go visit tori?" The kid perked up in happiness. Sans lowered his voice. "i heard she's making that butterscotch pie that you really liked. let me talk to my bro for a bit and we'll join you."

Frisk didn't need more encouragement from his empty sockets and his bait of pie. They nodded in agreement. The kid placed the tube of mayonnaise on the sink and ran for the door.

Sans watched them keenly as they exited the bathroom, one hand rubbing his brother's arm. He was still feeling the effects of the nightmares much more strongly with the kid's presence near his brother.

When he heard the front door slam loudly, he turned to his brother.

Papyrus' face displayed disappointment. "OH, SANS, I SHOULD HAVE SIMPLY USED THE _NORMAL_ CLEANER I ALWAYS USE!"

Sans looked at his brother. "paps, it's not your fault. you know that, _right_? you did leave a sign telling them not to touch the mayo. it's not your fault if they didn't sniff it."

Papyrus suddenly appeared to be sheepish. "OH, ABOUT THAT, SANS..."

Paps took something out of his scarf and shoved it in Sans' hand.

How in Asgore's throne had his brother hidden something in his scarf? It hadn't been there earlier, had it? Sans would probably have noticed it, when he had glanced at is brother's neck to see if Frisk had beheaded him.

Sans blinked and examined the item in his hand, sockets widening when he saw another tube of toothpaste. He was quick to uncap it, sniffing delicately.

It was mayonnaise. A less pungent version of mayonnaise that smelled fresh out of the bottle. Sans felt something like hilarity build up in his ribs and he glanced back up at his brother, jaw gaping a little.

His brother looked deeply apologetic. Browridge furrowed with shame and cheekbones strained with effort.

"I WAS SUPPOSED TO PUT THAT IN THE CUPBOARD AND TAKE THE BACKUP," Papyrus explained. "BUT... I DID NOT THINK I WAS TOO LATE." His brother's face twisted in guilt.

Sans couldn't help it. He burst out in laughter.

" _p-paps_ ," he choked out.

His brother stared at him in confusion. "BROTHER?" Papyrus asked, concerned. His brother placed a gloved hand on his quivering shoulder. "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, SANS?"

" _o-oh my stars_ , pap," Sans wheezed. He shoved the tube next to the fermented mayo on the sink, then he cackled at the sight when he saw no difference to their appearance. If he had been the kid, he would have used it with no question. There was no doubt they looked brand new.

His brother looked alarmed when his own laughter turned high-pitched.

"t-that was the _backup_?!" Sans gasped, gesturing wildly at the two tubes of mayo. His brother had an offended look on his face. "oh wow, my _ribs_ , ow. _special fermented mayo_? oh p-paps, that... i really fell for it! oh stars, _wow_."

Wow, his brother had really done it, after all. To think that Frisk would accidentally go for the aged mayo before the fresh one had been planted... It cracked him up even more.

It _would_ be the kid's luck to accidentally go for the _backup_ before the original prank was launched.

He felt so inappropriately proud of his brother. He knew he shouldn't encourage his innocent brother from pranking bystanders, but really, Sans thought Frisk deserved it a little.

"SANS!" Papyrus said reproachfully, looking as if he was fighting a smile. Sans cackled and grabbed his phone, eyelights finding his brother's look of horror. "SANS, WHAT..."

"don't move, paps." Sans grabbed his brother by the shoulders and leaned up. His brother flushed a healthy shade of orange when he rubbed their cheekbones together.

"SANS, IS THAT YOUR PHONE– IS THAT A SCREENSHOT OF MY SHAMEFUL PUN?! YOU HAVE TO DELETE THAT, SANS!" His brother reached out to swipe his phone, but Sans was quicker.

"p-pap, _no_ , i g-gotta take a _picture_. let's do it!"

Sans aimed his phone again and Papyrus made another attempt to swipe his phone.

"paps, no!"

Sans stumbled away from his brother in his attempt to hide the phone in his pocket and lost his balance. For a split second, Papyrus' face twisted in something resembling horror and regret. It felt like time had slowed, like everything looked a little cyan around the edges.

His mind accurately brought up every detail of the room, including his position near the door and the trajectory of his skull near the sink's corner. One hit and he could be dust. Killed by tripping on a sink. He grasped for his brother, but his fingers missed by inches.

' _oh no_.'

Sans shut his sockets, bracing for the impact, too shocked to say goodbye. He could only think of his brother's beautiful smile under the sunlight, bright and living. He hoped for no resets. Hoped his brother lived a happy, long life surrounded by monsters who loved him. Hoped Paps wouldn't miss him too much.

Then he felt his brothers arms close around him, pulling him into his chest. His brother bodily moved them away, and Sans felt his world shifting as he landed on his brother's chest.

"ow," Sans groaned. He lifted his skull and accidentally hit his brother's jaw. " _ouch_!" Sans yelped in pain, clutching one hand on his skull and placing one hand on his brother's sternum.

Papyrus groaned back in answer. Sans felt panic rushing through his bones.

"aw, _no_. paps, _are you okay_?!"

Sans hurriedly sat up, straddling his brother's hips in his haste to check over his brother. No visible damage, only his brother's pride, probably. His sockets were closed, head on the floor, face flushed with magic. He hadn't heard anything crack, so the fall must have been short and Papyrus had done one of his practice falls.

" _no_ ," Sans breathed, soul racing in distress. His mind raked the data in his head, and his teeth spewed nonsense statistics. "no visible fractures, and no visible dust. unharmed, but seemingly unconscious, no signs of the cause of unconsciousness. therefore, subject must be alive and conscious." Sans took a deep breath.

"S-Sans, what..."

"paps, _open_ your eyes!"

"I'm okay, Sans," Papyrus reassured, sockets still closed as he patted Sans' back gently. He was just lying there, as if he had all the time in the world and he hadn't just caused a rupture in Sans' mental landscape.

"thank stars." Sans sighed in relief as his brother opened his sockets. His brother smiled weakly, nervously. "you... i really thought you... thanks, pap. you're a life-saver."

His brother beamed up at him. " _REALLY_?"

"yeah, bro. really, thanks for the save," Sans whispered, moving his skull closer to see if he missed anything crucial.

He leaned one hand on the base of the sink and one beside his brother's skull, eyelights scanning for any hairline fractures. Besides the orange blush of his brother's magic, nothing seemed to be wrong.

His hand smacked against the wood, unintentionally making it wobble.

Something from the sink fell right next to his brother's skull and they both flinched at the noise it made. They both glanced to the item in question.

It was a pack of mint Lifesavers.

They both glanced at each other with wide sockets.

"Sans, is that...?" Papyrus asked quietly.

" _no_..." Sans replied just as quietly.

They both looked back at the mints.

They cracked up at the same time.

" _OH MY GOD_ , SANS!" Papyrus laughed even if he sounded deeply betrayed by the universe. " _WHY_?! AT A TIME LIKE THIS?!"

"it wasn't me!" Sans replied, laughing when Papyrus shoved the mints away from his head, his face flushed with orange magic. "i swear, paps, it wasn't me!"

"OF COURSE IT IS YOU, SANS! THE UNIVERSE IS OBVIOUSLY UNDER YOUR COMMAND!"

"no, paps, it wasn't me, it must have been _fate_." Sans chortled when Papyrus glared at him while trying to fight a smile. "the universe hates me!"

"REALLY, NOW? THEN WHAT DO YOU CALL AN INCIDENT LIKE THIS? A _PUN_ ISHMENT?"

Sans laughed loudly at the pun and cupped his brother's cheekbones in his hands, staring his eyelights into Paps' sockets. His brother flushed with magic, and his sockets had widened in surprise.

"i _swear_ , it wasn't me," he said firmly, even as giggles escaped his teeth. "we don't have mints like that in the house."

Papyrus sighed heavily and returned his skull to the floor. "OF _COURSE_ NOT," Paps replied with mock-suspicion, browridge raised. Sans grinned and shrugged. "SOMEHOW YOU JUST LIKE PRANKING ME THROUGH TIME AND SPACE!"

Sans cackled, not denying the fact he had done exactly that with the help of the resets. But in the previous timelines, not this one. He had no idea how he became fortunate enough to get a pun right after a compliment and thanks.

His brother looked irritated, but it was mocking. It didn't look serious enough for his brother's bone structure.

Since his brother was in a slightly better mood, Sans placed his hands on the floor, each one leveled on the sides of his brother's skull.

Papyrus's sockets popped open, staring at him with indiscernible emotion.

"so, um... can we do it, paps?" Sans brought up the most pleading expression he could muster. The whole package of tremulous eyelights, the little flush on his cheekbones already in effect, the shy earnestness he could plaster on his bones. _Exactly_ the way his brother would make him agree to anything remotely inadvisable. " _please_ , papyrus?" Sans whispered lowly.

His brother's face immediately flushed a deep and bright orange, jaw gaping in shock. "Sans..."

Sans shut his sockets and brought out his major arsenal. " _please_ , papsy?" he begged, opening his sockets and aiming his gaze at his brother, allowing uncertainty to appear in his eyelights. "just one or two pictures. i... um, i won't ask again."

His brother' expression appeared to be both alarmed and conflicted. He didn't know exactly how it worked on his brother's face, but it did. Papyrus really looked like he fell for Sans' pleading, but he didn't know why his brother looked like a hundred ants fell from the ceiling and started crawling inside his bones.

"Sans..." Papyrus whispered, sockets narrowed.

His brother's hands landed on each side of his hipbones and Sans tried not to flinch at the sudden contact. He held his pleading expression, widening his sockets and affecting a look of innocence. He would not falter, not even if his brother shoved him away.

"c'mon, paps. please?"

"You innocent master of s– you _manipulator_." Papyrus sighed theatrically in defeat, slumping his head back to the floor. Sans widened his sockets. Papyrus glance back at him and groaned. "Of course, Sans, you may take a picture of us together."

Sans grinned victoriously. Even if Papyrus deleted the background image of his phone, he wouldn't be able to take away the copies he had saved in his emails, heavily encrypted using three or four different styles of encryption.

Seconds later, he had seven pictures of him and Paps laughing at the camera. One of the pictures had his brother smiling down at him while he looked up, explaining how cool it was that a pun just happen to fall down near their heads.

He made it his phone's background image.

• • •

The next morning, the annoying dog had gotten into the house and stole a bag of flour.

Sans had no idea why they had flour, what with his brother's fixation with spaghetti, but he didn't mind the dog taking it. They hadn't used the flour before, and Papyrus never ate his spaghetti. It was one of those facts of life that Sans forgot.

"OH MY GOD, SANS!" exclaimed his brother, who was rushing through his daily routine. "I AM SO LATE, _PLEASE_ GET UP AND HELP ME PREPARE FOR MY TRAINING WITH UNDYNE!"

Sans groaned from the couch, lifting his skull from his comfortable cushion. "paps, aren't you strong enough already?" He patted the seat next to him. "sit down and calm down. undyne's not gonna skewer you for being late, right? just bat your sockets at her. she can't resist cute stuff."

His brother's sockets narrowed, even as a flattered blush painted his bones. " _NO_ , SANS, I MUST NOT _DAWDLE_! WHO KNOWS HOW THE HUMANS WOULD REACT TO A COOL GUY LIKE ME? I NEED THE STRENGTH TO GREET ALL MY FANS! ALSO, UNDYNE WOULD INDEED SKEWER ME IF I WERE LATE, AND I _AM_ LATE!"

Sans nodded sleepily, then he stood up and walked next to his brother's side as his brother rummaged through the pantry.

"are you ready _now_ , though?"

Papyrus lifted his skull from the depths of the pantry, offended. "OF _COURSE_ I AM! I JUST NEEDED TO CHECK IF THAT ANNOYING DOG TOOK ANYTHING ELSE BESIDES OUR FOOD!"

Sans snickered at the image of a dog checking the pantry for food. Maybe he wanted to bake cookies?

"i hope not. i'm too slow. i wouldn't be able to _ketchup_ if he decided to steal all our food."

Papyrus gasped in indignation. " _SANS_ ," his brother hissed menacingly, his gloves hands twitching.

Sans shrugged, baiting his brother with a cheeky wink of his socket. Papyrus' sockets popped wide with incensed emotions. "what? it's true, bro. besides, if he _fries_ again, i'm sure you _mustard_ planted lots of traps to stop him. can't say i mind. _olive_ your traps, they're something you can't just _beet_."

Predictably, his brother withdrew himself from the pantry and lunged for him. Sans sidestepped the attack and grabbed his brother's arm, magic prepared.

"blink if you can," Sans recommended.

" _WHAT_ –"

Sans took them to a shortcut to Waterfall, deeply hidden by glowing trees and far away from the cameras he knew Alphys had hidden near Undyne's house.

Papyrus stumbled against him and Sans braced himself against the glowing tree behind him. His brother grasped his shoulders for support, head turning side-to-side in awe, jaw slackened.

" _HOW_? HOW DID YOU DO THIS, BROTHER?" Papyrus questioned in excitement. "WE WERE AT _HOME_ JUST A FEW SECONDS AGO!"

"science and magic stuff, bro," Sans replied, leaving out the ' _because i poured in my magic into your fragile babybones self and accidentally discovered the power to take shortcuts because i panicked when you cried and i was suddenly next to you in your room_.' It would have been a little embarrassing to explain, not to mention Papyrus would have felt guilty for the reason of his one HP. "besides, aren't you _late_?" Sans pointed out, lifting a browridge.

Papyrus looked determinedly to the direction of Undyne's repaired house, as if his mind had an inner compass to detect his aggressive friend and trainer.

"THANK YOU, BROTHER."

"sure, bro, glad to be of help– _wait_. what's that look for?"

His brother scooped him up in his arms and Sans squawked and flailed, arms instinctively wrapping itself tightly around his brother's shoulders. His brother released an evil-sounding laughter. Sans felt nervousness tingle down his spine.

"what... um." Sans tried to find the words to say how awkward he felt being suddenly cradled like a babybones in his brother's arms, but he couldn't find it. " _okay_? you don't need to thank me this much, bro."

"YOU ARE COMING WITH ME, BROTHER! YOU'RE JUST GOING TO SLEEP ON THE JOB AGAIN! THIS WAY, YOU CAN TRAIN, TOO, EVEN IF YOU JUST _WATCH_!"

Papyrus sprinted for Undyne's house before Sans could even reply.

He had a feeling he was about to see Papyrus have a good time.

• • •

They reached Undyne's place in record-breaking speed. Paps didn't even look exhausted, and only appeared to be even more enthusiastic.

Sans was lowered to the ground and he nearly kissed the blue grass.

While he liked being in Papyrus' arms for the fun of it and to avoid walking, his brother running and the daring twisting turns he took had scared away Sans' soul in the depths of his mind. He felt like his soul got left behind from the speed his brother had taken to get them here.

"NGAAAAAHHH! _IS THAT YOU, PAPYRUS? YOU'RE LATE_!"

Sans winced at the furious tone of Undyne's annoyance. He slipped past his stunned brother, greeting Undyne's enraged face with a bland smile.

"hey, undyne," Sans said nonchalantly. "sorry about being late. a dog stole our flour." There. Apology said, and everything was explained.

Even if the explanation sounded so far-fetched. Sans couldn't believe those words that came out of his mouth. It felt like he was joking, even if he knew the dog stole the flour.

And he didn't even need to rub the dogfood scent on the bag of flour, too.

Undyne blinked rapidly and looked shocked at his appearance. She squinted at him. "WHU– _WHAT_?  _SANS_?! PAPYRUS, YOU BROUGHT YOUR _BROTHER_ WITH YOU? TO OUR _TRAINING_?"

"YES, UNDYNE! I BELIEVE THAT SANS NEEDS TO WATCH ME TRAIN SO HE CAN BE STRONG LIKE ME! NYEH HEH HEH! I'M SORRY FOR BEING LATE, BUT MY MORNING HAS BEEN VERY FRUSTRATING! THAT ANNOYING DOG STOLE OUR FLOUR!"

Sans sweated nervously at Undyne's happy expression.

"THAT'S A GREAT IDEA! I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT ALPHYS, TOO!" There might have been invisible souls flying around her head if Sans squinted a little.

Undyne had been going on and on about her girlfriend being an adorable nerd, and Papyrus had sometimes complained that it distracted her a lot during battles when he employed psychological tactics to counter her attacks.

Sans, being Sans, obviously heard the striking acknowledgement in his brother's voice that said he wholeheartedly approved of Undyne's brave boasting about her girlfriend.

Sans tuned back into the conversation, realizing he missed a lot of things said. He wondered aimlessly if he could escape from this horror show that was about to happen. He already felt tired from recurring nightmares of Paps battling the kid. He didn't want more of Paps fighting Undyne, HP being slowly damaged.

"...AND THAT'S WHY THE HUMAN IS HERE? I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THEM TO BE UNINTERESTED IN SUCH THINGS!"

Sans' head snapped up at the mention of the kid. He caught the tell-tale purple of Frisk's shirt near a patch of grass. They were waving at him, so he waved back.

Not _again_. Nope. He wasn't about to leave _any_ time soon, not with the kid near his bro.

Sans forced on a relaxed smile. "does this mean i get to watch paps go and be cool?" he asked, making two head swivel in his direction. "i want to watch. this is a good idea, actually. i'll learn a lot from the two of you."

Learn a lot of ways to prevent Frisk from learning new fighting styles, he meant. There was no way he was leaving the kid to learn Undyne and Papyrus' fighting style. Who knew what kind of new techniques Paps and Undyne incorporated in their style? Definitely not Sans.

Papyrus brightened up, and Undyne seemed even more pumped to train. She was visibly vibrating in excitement.

"NGAH!!! LET'S DO THIS!" Undyne suddenly conjured a spear and went for his brother.

Papyrus swiftly met her powered swipe with a conjured bone, and the two of them started fighting in front of Undyne's house, Frisk watching on the side, cheering for the two of them.

Sans found a nice non-sentient boulder and took a seat, eyelights sharply observing the way his brother fought.

The way he moved away from Undyne's relentless spears, the way he stepped aside attacks that were too near, the way his brother somehow got it into his head to wink at the provoked Undyne, like he was taunting her skills... It reminded him vaguely of his own battle with the kid. But no, Paps wouldn't know anything about Sans' fighting style, so he must be projecting himself on his brother again.

He shook his head when Papyrus managed to take a hit, wincing when he realized his brother's HP went down.

"NGAH!!! _HOW DID YOU GET SO GOOD AT DODGING_?! I NEVER TAUGHT YOU THOSE MOVES YOU MADE!"

"NYEH HEH HEH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS NOT ONE TO TELL ALL HIS SECRETS," his brother replied, ducking under a volley of spears. "I HAVE BEEN VERY INSPIRED TO BE MUCH MORE _EVASIVE_ LATELY! SANS WOULD KNOW!"

Sans thought about the pranks his brother had played on Frisk and nodded sleepily. Yeah, definitely inspired. So inspired that somehow, someway, Papyrus was emulating him. Pranks here, pranks there, the accidental _guilt_ -tripping before bed time and this fight... His brother had definitely learned that move from him. He just didn't know how... Unless his brother subconsciously remembered the trainings from previous timelines.

Sans narrowed his sockets when his brother became more clumsy, especially when Undyne summoned more spears at once. Since the start of the battle, Papyrus had simply elected to dodge everything and block all the attacks Undyne had sent. Each attack was countered defensively when it seemed his brother couldn't dodge it. Each hit took a toll on his HP, and he didn't even retaliate, not even once.

He checked Undyne's HP with great suspicion and saw that he was right. Full HP, high attack power and high defense.

He checked his brother's stats.

 **Papyrus**  
**LV 1**  
**HP 100/1680**  
**AT 20**  
**DF 40**

*** Your beloved brother, the most important person in your life that makes you happy. He has low HP right now. He may need to stop fighting soon.**

Sans' eyelights flickered at his brother's higher stats. No, it couldn't be... This hadn't been his brother's stats the last time he had checked! His brother had less than a thousand HP, his attack power had been less than twenty and defense definitely less than forty. Now, it seemed like he had gotten a boost from somewhere.

 _How_?

He would have some serious words with his brother later, after Undyne got bored with a moving target.

Still. Holy stars, _how_?

His brother was training his defenses. Speed and evasion, countering attacks... For _what_ , exactly? And _why_? Is it for his ever-growing stats? Is his brother getting stronger for a reason? How in the world did he manage to get _more_ than a thousand HP?

Did his brother's training really make a difference? How had he not noticed it? The changes... It was impossibly higher than what regular training could bring, but... Undyne's training didn't seem to be normal. However, from what he had observed, nothing that she did was different from Papyrus' regular training.

His brother's hope was _unimaginably_ high, and the damage he could deal... Holy stars, one hit from his brother and Frisk would be toast.

A sharp sound of a spear whistling by snapped him out of his musings. He heard Undyne cackle madly when it narrowly hit his brother's pauldron.

"NGAHAHAHA!!! YOU CAN'T DODGE FOREVER, PAPYRUS!" Undyne hissed loudly, trying to catch his brother in a shield with her green magic.

Unfortunately for her, Sans had trained his brother's blue magic of Integrity to be the very best besides his own. His brother narrowly avoided her magic by shifting his gravity upside-down, pulling himself upward and making himself vulnerable to the air before he slammed himself down, landing on his feet and rolling away from another barrage of spears.

Those words, though... Sans flinched at a memory of Frisk saying the same thing, except his own name replaced Papyrus' name. He breathed deeply, shaking away the memory and focusing instead on his brother's evasive maneuvers.

His brother looked challenged. "NYEH HEH HEH, OF COURSE NOT, UNDYNE! WHILE I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, I AM NOT AS EXPERIENCED AS YOU IN _FIGHTING_!"

Undyne aimed three spears at his brother's vital points, and Sans watched in admiration as his brother somehow managed to move only his hips to a side and evade the rest of the spears with practiced movements, bending back and supporting his weight with one arm, then rolling away again.

"STAY STILL AND LET ME DEFEAT YOU!"

Papyrus dodged away from the green magic, boots carefully spread apart to maximize movement area. "NYEH HEH HEH, NO, UNDYNE! I SHALL NOT!"

Undyne released a sound of frustration. "NGAAAAHH!"

Sans winced when his brother got hit by only one spear from what looked like fifty of them. Undyne cried out victoriously.

"NGAHAHAHA! I TOLD YOU I COULD CATCH YOU!"

"YOU'VE HIT ME, UNDYNE," Papyrus confirmed. He was panting, even if skeletons had no need to breathe. He looked exhausted, and there was magical sweat visible on his brother's skull.

Sans knew the moment Papyrus released an exhausted sigh that his brother would take a break in a few minutes to eat monster food. _Food_ that his brother forgot to bring, but Sans didn't.

He called a blaster to transfer itself to his location. While no one was looking, especially the kid, he stood up and took the orange lunch bag from its invisible maw, making it visible. Inside, it held the container of two slices of butterscotch pie (which he had made by following Tori's full-HP recipe), two bottles of milk (still a little cool from the Snowdin weather) and a bottle of ketchup, along with two forks that came with it.

He grinned when Frisk turned around to look at him and seemed surprised to see the orange bag in his hands. They signed rapidly.

" _When did you get those_?" Frisk asked.

"always had it, kiddo." He offered a shrug at their disbelieving look. No way would he just tell his secrets to the kid.

The kid pouted, obviously curious. He knew they would be watching him later. He had a pocket of space prepared for situations like this one. One little grab from his pocket and he could probably pull out his pet rock from its plate in the house.

"...THAT'S _ENOUGH_ , UNDYNE! I CAN'T MOVE ANYMORE!" Papyrus begged gently.

Gently for him, anyway. To Sans, it sounded like his brother was desperate for a break.

"NGAAH!!! NO, PAPYRUS, THAT IS NO EXCUSE! YOU WERE SO _LATE_... BY _THIRTY MINUTES_! WE MISSED OUR COOKING LESSON, TOO! STAND UP AND FIGHT ME! NO MORE _DODGING_ –"

"hey paps," Sans called out, interrupting Undyne's rant.

Undyne looked deeply annoyed by the interruption, turning to him pointedly with a curious glare.

"YES, BROTHER?" Papyrus looked over, sockets evidently bright with the eagerness to escape his friend's harsh training.

Obviously, Sans had missed something from their fight, but what kind of brother would he be if he couldn't even grab his bro out of trouble?

"come here and get something to eat," Sans replied smoothly, ignoring Undyne's expression of surprise. He only had eyelights for his brother's actively tired appearance. "if you guys want to continue training more, i want paps in top shape. a cool dude like you needs a break sometime today, right?"

" _WOWIE_! YOU ARE COMPLETELY RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, looking deep in thought. His brother allowed his conjured weapons to dissipate, then he turned his body to Sans. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS MUST _ALWAYS_ BE IN TOP FORM IN ORDER TO GIVE HIS BEST SPECIAL ATTACKS!"

Papyrus managed to dodge a spear by running for Sans and his bag of food, causing Undyne to squawk in surprise as her attack missed his brother by inches. He ended up just a foot away from where Sans stood. His brother panted, bending forward to rest his gloved hands on his patellas. There was magical sweat on the back of his skull, the magic of his brother flushing his bones with colour. He looked exhausted, but also kinda energetic.

Sans may not understand his brother's odd energy, but he knew his brother worked hard. He tilted his head, observing his brother from a different angle. "you look like you've run through a pack of undynes," Sans commented, refraining from making a pun about _undies_.

Papyrus laughed breathlessly, like he heard exactly what Sans had not said, and Sans felt triumphant that a wide smile graced his brother's orange-tinged skull.

His brother looked startled at his own reaction.

"Sans, no. Please don't joke about Undyne when I'm still under her watchful eye," his brother whispered pleadingly, sockets wide, manic and mirthful.

Sort of scandalized, kind of like his brother trying to mentally send him signals not to make him crack up laughing from a joke about Undyne and lure Undyne with the scent of his laughter and the source of a joke. Sans refrained from smirking, but he did allow a mischievous smile.

"but bro, i've been holding back a _ton_ of jokes," Sans replied with a taunting wink.

And he did hold back some of his jokes. Undyne would _krill_ for all the fish jokes and dinosaur jokes he had. He'd studied monsters for a while in a previous timeline, after he got bored with selling hotcats at his sentry station and waiting for the human to fall down. Papyrus had laughed hysterically at one of them in a previous reset, looking both horrified and mortified at his own reaction to the joke.

Skeleton jokes, on the other hand, made Papyrus cringe and look terribly annoyed. Still, it was kind of entertaining, seeing his brother's flustered look of vengeful annoyance.

His brother glared much more meaningfully, browridge twitching, sockets bulging with indignation at Sans' bait.

" _Sans_ ," Papyrus whispered in a warning tone, even as his grin twitched with humour.

Sans grinned cheekily. " _papyrus_ ," he teased.

His brother cracked a helpless smile and shook his head. "You are completely incorrigible, Sans." 

Sans observed as his brother started rolling his shoulders with precision, testing his joints carefully. His battle body looked much more metallic than paper-mache, actually. It was probably a recent thing his brother decided to change. His scarf had a new tear in it, probably from one of Undyne's spears, and it made Sans feel irrationally sad to see the damage.

That scarf had seen through so many resets. Stained with so much dust.

However, seeing Papyrus look so happy and excited at the same time even while he was obviously exhausted by the HP, it made Sans happy, too.

Sans felt pride filling his soul, remembering the way his brother had looked really cool with the moves he performed to evade Undyne's attacks. He felt like Papyrus deserved a reward for training so hard. Sure, he was still miffed about not knowing how his brother's stats went up, but still... Papyrus deserved some kind of praise and acknowledgement. Something that meant Sans really felt so amazed and awed and every synonym that could also mean he felt so proud.

He knew one thing that would get through his brother. A sign of affection. Anything would do, because Paps was as tactile as he could be, most especially for Sans.

Since his brother was already close enough for a hug, he placed the bag on the ground and embraced his bro, who look just a tad alarmed at his surprising show of affection. Sans rarely practiced public displays of brotherly affection unless it meant teasing, so a sincere action like this... his brother must not be computing his intentions well. So he took advantage of Paps' lowered skull leaned forward, ignoring his brother's wide sockets as he planted a skeleton kiss on his temple.

Somewhere close by, he could hear Undyne and Frisk choking on air.

He pulled back and offered a sincere smile, holding his brother close by the shoulders.

"congrats on the stats, bro," Sans whispered.

Papyrus brightened visibly, as if he just ate the butterscotch pie and regained his energy. Compliments and praise made his brother so much more reassured in himself. It made Sans feel so happy that his words could bring such joy in his brother's soul.

Sans patted his brother's skull lightly. "i'm _really_ proud of you, paps. i mean, you've always been an upfront kind of fighter, but now, you're fighting much more smartly. i've seen you implement the two styles together... don't think i haven't noticed how much more nimble you are than before. you've worked really hard, haven't you?"

Papyrus beamed gleefully. "I'm glad you have noticed the new change in my fighting style, Sans! I have been planning to allow my style to evolve naturally, but I realized it would be more prudent to train harder in order to gain new cool moves!"

Sans smiled sweetly at his brother. "heh, that's a great idea, bro. i'm glad you're mixing up your moves. always allow variation in your fighting style. don't ever make it a pattern, okay?"

Papyrus nodded eagerly, perked up like a little puppy. "Yes, Sans. That is indeed what I am aiming to accomplish. I realized that my fighting style would become entirely predictable if I keep using the same combination of attacks. I have never tried dodging while attacking before, and I feel that it has made a great difference to train hard on that skill."

"yeah, i noticed that your speed and evasion went up. i guess we have to feed you now, right? so you can get back to your training?"

"I suppose I could rest for a while," his brother replied, sounding both relieved and regretful. His brother's body tensed up, his face masked with guilt. "However, I did forget to pack us some food in our haste to get here."

He _knew_ it.

Sans offered a soft smile. "don't worry, paps, your bro's got the food packed up."

Papyrus' shoulders relaxed in an instant and he leaned closer to rest his skull on Sans' shoulder, sighing gratefully in response. "Thank you, brother."

"it might not be your favourite," Sans continued, feeling amusement for his brother's dramatics, "but it will definitely fill your hp. i baked butterscotch pie, bro. i thought i would accidentally burn it, but, uh, i think it came out right."

"It's been too long since you have made food for me, brother," Papyrus murmured quietly, turning his head and grazing his teeth on Sans' cheekbones.

Yeah, he was definitely hearing Undyne and Frisk sputtering in the background. They must have thought he really wasn't that close to his brother. Paps must have been complaining a lot about him.

"don't forget the pun-king soup i made you, paps."

Papyrus pulled away abruptly and Sans' grin took a mischievous appearance. His brother looked ready to shake him the shoulders, eyesockets twitching, browridge raised in incredulity, obviously still remembering the pumpkin pun like it was still yesterday.

Sans picked the bag up from the ground and opened it before his brother could start complaining. He took out the container with the pies and a fork, offering it to his brother, whose expression had melted into curiosity.

"There is only one fork, Sans," his brother pointed out.

"it's kinda just for you, paps," Sans replied easily. "i'm not the one who had some crazy dodging workout."

Not to mention his brother's HP was worryingly low, a steady thirty-five, something that could easily just be drained from an attack.

Papyrus shook his head, covering Sans' hands with his own. "We'll have to share the food, Sans," he stated firmly. Sans blinked in surprise, but he had expected the answer. That's why he'd packed another fork. "I refuse to eat it alone."

Sans nodded at the practical request. He grabbed the other fork from the bag when Papyrus took the container and the fork from him.

He glanced at Undyne, checking to see why his brother's friend was being uncharacteristically silent. He saw her and the kid hunched over her phone. She was typing really quickly.

Must be Alphys posting a new status update, going by the odd blush on Undyne's face.

"Sans, sit down and eat with me," Papyrus demanded, patting the large boulder that Sans had chosen as a pseudo-bench.

He sat down obediently, pocketing the bag into a shortcut and leaving his hands empty except for his own fork.

Papyrus forked a small portion of pie and shoved it in his mouth without any compunctions. His sockets closed as he hummed in delight.

Then the pie disappeared in Paps' mouth in one sitting. Sans sat there in shock, wondering if he just missed five minutes of his life, or if the pie actually tastes that good.

"This is actually quite good, Sans!" Papyrus exclaimed happily, completely forgetting that Sans had seen him eat so quickly that it had blurred into a minute.

Sans ignored the flush in his cheekbones and checked his brother's HP.

 **Papyrus**  
**LV 1**  
**HP 1680/1680**  
**AT 20**  
**DF 40**

*** Your beloved brother, the most important person in your life. He actually liked the food you made.**

Sans sighed in relief. So he really did follow the recipe well.

Sans scooped up a small portion for himself. It was less sweeter than he expected, much more like flan than sticky, slimy stuff. The cinnamon added a bit of spice to its flavour. It wasn't exactly what he expected.

He heard Undyne's boots crunching on the grass and he looked up. Undyne and Frisk were giggling to each other, still looking at the phone. Undyne kept shifting on the grass, a summoned spear grasped in her hand being twirled around like a baton.

Sans eyed them warily and moved closer to his brother, nibbling lightly on the pie. Those two were acting really suspicious.

He was right.

Undyne abruptly aimed the spear at his brother, yelling out a battle cry. His brother whipped his head to look at Undyne.

" _UNDYNE, NO_!"

Undyne ignored his brother's words and sent the spear flying. Sans mentally calculated the trajectory of the spear, realizing he only needed minimal movement to avoid it, so he stayed where he sat. Papyrus, on the other hand, jumped away from the boulder.

Sans tilted his head to a side, allowing the spear to zip past him, calmly eating the pie while he stared at his brother, who had started to panic.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!"

"i'm okay, bro. it didn't hit me."

Papyrus' expression could be described as livid. Undyne's expression could be described as both dumbfounded and a little terrified. Frisk's expression... Well, the kid's expression looked a little panic, like they had been worried, but also a little stricken.

His brother turned to Undyne and _lambasted_ her with words of reproach, disappointment and guilt-trips. He mentioned her being discourteous, not to mention dishonourable. Undyne started to look emotionally attacked, and it looked like her pride was starting to break as she stared guiltily at his brother, only accepting his words.

" _bro_ , i'm okay," Sans repeated, allowing his gravity magic to tug on his brother's scarf.

"BUT _SANS_ –!"

"paps, you know me. science stuff, remember?'

Papyrus deflated right away from his _right_ eous anger. Undyne showed the hints of relief on her face, probably from being saved from another wordy scolding. Frisk looked like Frisk, except with more surprise and curiosity. Sans couldn't tell which one of them had the funniest look.

"If you say so, Sans," his brother began hesitantly. His brother's expression blended both concern and amazement. "Are you _truly_ okay?"

"yep."

"NGAAAAAH!!!" Undyne exclaimed, pumping her fist violently in the air. She looked very much like she wanted to throw another spear, just to see him do it again. "THAT WAS _AMAZING_ , THOUGH! HOW DID YOU DO THAT? DO IT AGAIN!!!"

Sans blinked and glanced back at Undyne. So a little move like that impressed his brother's fish friend? Sans didn't know what to think about that. Undyne's expression foretold the mission of getting him into doing it again, although Sans didn't think he wanted anything to do with fighting.

"math and science stuff," Sans replied casually, scooping up more of the pie until he was at the last bite. He swallowed and added, to Undyne's look of confusion, "you know, a little gravity, some speed and velocity and all that stuff."

Papyrus adopted an expression of pride. He jutted out his hips and placed both his hands on each side of it.

"Yes, my brother is correct! His calculations have never been more accurate when it comes to gravity and its physics. My brother is a dedicated scholar when it comes to the sciences."

Sans sputtered in surprise. "paps, how did you–"

His brother's expression twisted with incredulity. "SANS, I CLEAN YOUR ROOM SOMETIMES. THERE WAS A COPY OF A LETTER THAT YOU SENT TO SOMEONE AND I THOUGHT IT LOOKED IMPORTANT SO I READ IT, JUST IN CASE IT WAS SOMETHING YOU HADN'T SENT YET. ALSO, I HAVE SEEN YOUR BOOKS OF PHYSICS."

' _no, no, no, no, no..._ ' Sans chanted in his head.

He needed to go through his trash. _Now_. There was no way he was leaving documents like that by accident. He should have checked if he actually made copies of his notes. That letter must have been a copy he had made from the original he had sent to Gaster, denying the position of the Royal Scientist vote because he had to take care of his brother. The letter listed down the things he had already helped design for Gaster, like the DT extractor to help with his monster souls, the CORE to convert geothermal energy to either monster energy or electricity, and the design for the time-space machine that could allow them to see glimpses of a past and future.

Undyne's face twisted with disbelief, her sharp teeth glinting when she opened her mouth. The eye-patch on her eye seemed really terrifying right then for some reason. It made Sans a little nervous.

"REALLY? YOUR _BROTHER_... _SANS_?" Undyne snorted. Sans felt slightly offended, and Papyrus looked ready to descale Undyne's skin, going by the expression of suppressed indignation on his face. "HE'S SOME KIND OF NERD LIKE ALPHYS? WOW, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD TALENTS LIKE ALPHYS!"

"heh, right." Sans cleaned up the lunch, shoving the forks and containers in the orange bag and pocketing it to a shortcut on the counter near the sink at the house. He shifted nervously when Frisk stared with wide eyes, because it looked so brown, not red. "so, uh, you're gonna train again with paps, right?"

Undyne's eye seemed to be unfocused, like she was trying to think about something really bad. Something that could end up with a bad time.

Undyne'e grin twisted into a smirk and his brother expressed some kind of look of suspicion. Frisk looked kind of confused.

" _SURE_!" Undyne exclaimed, motioning a hand to the large space in front of her house. "COME ON, PAPYRUS! WE'RE GONNA TRAIN HARD THIS TIME! NO DODGING AND GIVE ME YOUR _BEST_ SHOT! NO STOPPING UNLESS ONE OF BECOMES _UNCONSCIOUS_!"

Sans felt like that bad time was coming sooner than expected.

* * *

 

(' _OH NO... THAT LOOK ON HER FACE_!' Papyrus thought in panic.

Undyne had that look on her face whenever she planned something drastic. Something that would probably end up with him being thoroughly defeated. While his training had been successful in raising his stats, Undyne had a lot more experience in fighting. The only person he knew who could match her... It could be either the King or Sans, his brother.

He side-eyed Frisk and saw them staring at Sans with curiosity. It was nothing like he had seen in San's dream, where he had seen a reddish hue in their eyes. Their eyes seemed a normal shade of brown, but he knew Sans could not have made up those memories.

The memories had been crisp and clean, free of the blurriness of dreams.

Pranks had satisfied only little of his anger. Of his frustration. For the child to pretend that everything was fine and dandy... It infuriated him further.

He knew that he should feel understanding. The child had come to the Underground for some indiscernible reason that they have yet to admit. They encountered monsters who had killed them time and time again. No one had thought to skip fighting the human in their desperation to escape the Underground.

They spared some, but it was for nothing but amusement. Papyrus had sensed an _evil_ from their actions in his brother's memories.

Papyrus did not know what to think of them, now that he knew what they had done. Playing innocent would have to continue. Perhaps hold on to the positive reinforcement in order to change their mind.

Still...

What exactly had made their eyes the shade of a red soul?

Also... What exactly did Undyne plan to do with him? Her cackling so suddenly while he had accepted to spar again felt too ominous to be innocent!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TJOS might take a while, but it will also be long to have some substance in it. I like it when I get deep into the details and give it some spices.
> 
> The scene I was supposed to add didn't seem to add to the flavour of the story in this chapter. Next chapter will have Sans and Paps and Undyne and Frisk (being ignored).


	8. ...a little crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When your little bro gets his coccyx beat, you better make sure you save him.
> 
> Papyrus gets into trouble. Sans stands up and does something. Frisk tries to help, but they don't really get more than three sentences to their name.

There wasn't a chance for Papyrus to win against Undyne, no matter how much the new tactics he could integrate into his plans could damage her HP quickly.

Sans thought it would be a quick fight, but his brother had, surprisingly, dragged it out as much as possible. During the fight, Sans managed to see that his brother was increasingly improving against Undyne's attacks. He wasn’t just aimlessly dodging or attacking. There was a subtle pattern, so indiscernible, in his brother’s meticulous strategy. Sans could sense it, could feel it as if he was inside his brother’s head, planning out the attacks with him.

His brother had decimated at least three-fifths of Undyne’s HP. If Undyne had the ability to check stats, she would have probably been impressed. However, she didn’t seem to have that ability, and despite her lowering HP, her stamina only had a few points deducted from its total. She really was a strong monster if she had that much endurance to sustain her stamina.

Sans watched sharply when she yelled out another battle cry. Papyrus looked really incredible when he met her spear with a bone staff. His brother had reflexively wrapped the bone itself with gravity magic and sent out a powerful pulse, knocking Undyne away from him. The resulting crater on the cave wall showered Undyne with crystals and rocks.

Sans immediately stood up from his boulder and clapped his gloved hands together so uncharacteristically eagerly that he caught Undyne’s attention, which caused another bone attack to lower her HP. He nearly smirked in the deviousness of the attack.

Papyrus smiled victoriously, and then he bowed theatrically to Sans before he regained his battle stance.

Frisk cheered loudly alongside him. Sans did his best to ignore them. It wouldn’t do well to start glaring at someone he pretended to trust, especially Toriel’s adopted child, and the saviour of all monsters.

“great job, pap,” he praised with a bemused grin.

He knew Papyrus had improved already, what with him integrating white with his blue magic. His brother had difficult mixing his magic together unless he wasn’t thinking too deeply about it. Sans had tried to teach him before, but Papyrus had stubbornly held onto the belief that his thoughts would manifest the bone by itself. Sans had laughed himself silly when, once Papyrus reacted instinctively from a sudden bone attack, his brother had twined two opposing magic together. Papyrus had started listening by then.

Papyrus puffed his chest outwards, twirling his bone staff elaborately and summoning bones from the ground, like he had to make himself look more impressive to look extra cool.

He didn’t need it, though. Sans thought he was the greatest monster in the Underground. He was sure his brother’s friends thought so, too, even if they only thought so because of Papyrus’ so-called innocence.

Undyne retaliated with another spear attack. Papyrus swiftly dealt a familiar graveyard-of-bones attack, and the fish monster tried to jump over the bones. However, she somehow missed Papyrus’ largest humerus construct shadowing behind her and slammed back to the ground beside the cave wall. She yelped in shock, her yellow sclera much more visible with her widened eye, mouth gaping in disbelief and exposing many more of her sharp teeth. A few points off her HP was taken off and Papyrus seemed equally surprised. Her armour had received a small crack at the centre of her breastplate. His brother probably tested that out with the human, then.

A quick glance at Frisk showed how much this event was surprising.

Sans had a quick minute to realize that Papyrus used her eye-patch to his advantage. His brother could certainly be cunning when he needed it. He chuckled as he remembered the several trainings it took for Papyrus to master that move. It took a lot of homemade dummies until Papyrus managed to fully hold the bone’s form. IF those dummies had been alive, they would have been in a lot of pain, probably incapacitated for life.

“WOOHOO! NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, PAPYRUS!” she shouted with zeal, one hand banging on the tiny crack on her armour.

If there was a scoring system, Sans would be giving Papyrus a perfect score. No doubt it would be extremely biased, but from Papyrus younger days of stumbling through forming his magic into bones into this dedicated warrior of cunning and power… well, there was no way Sans would give his bro a score less than perfect. He’d never seen this side of him before, someone who was willing to bring out all their best in order to overpower someone who was obviously stronger than them. His brother’s ambition shined like a beautiful sunrise.

Papyrus reflexively beamed, which also caused him to nearly get skewered by a stray spear. Sans winced when the small graze took some HP off his brother. He never really got used to seeing his brother’s HP slowly lowering like that. Sure, it was training, but it never meant the same thing when he had seen it emptied by a murderous child.

Trying to affect an air of laziness, he sat back on the boulder and unzipped his jacket, palming his sternum over his shirt, wondering why his soul felt like it wanted to manifest.

It felt like he was about to go into another panic attack.

After that incredible move with the graveyard, Papyrus seemed to lose his composure and started being clumsy. Sans didn’t know why his brother started to trip over nothing, but he watched the fish captain carefully. Undyne looked devious, throwing green attacks here and there until Papyrus managed to trip in the wrong direction and the shield surrounded him.

Sans froze as Papyrus stilled, his brother’s face twisting with discomfort as he tried to push away the green magic. Nothing he did worked, and it seemed like he was fully trapped. Sans tensed when Undyne noticed that Papyrus was fully trapped.

“AHA! CAUGHT YOU, PAPYRUS!” Undyne enthusiastically yelled, with a spear already in her hand, “HERE IS ANOTHER ATTACK! NNNNGAAAHHH!!!”

His brother appeared to be nervous, an uncomfortable grin plastered awkwardly on his face. Undyne conjured more spears, this time hitting true without Papyrus dodging. Sans nearly flinched when each hit managed to shave off a few points out of his brother’s HP. He wanted to yell that Papyrus could use his gravity magic to deflect outside the shield, but he didn’t know what his brother would do if he interfered. This was his brother’s battle. He had no right to interfere.

So he waited, summoning each drop of his patience as his soul filled with nervous terror, hoping Undyne would stop before she could do irreparable damage. She wouldn’t go too far, right? She had a green-based soul magic. Kind to the core of her soul – that was Undyne. She wouldn’t hurt his brother.

However, after Undyne’s relentless attacks and her passionate outburst about being a royal guard, Papyrus’ HP reached a terrifyingly low total of ninety points. Sans leaned at the edge of his boulder, soul slowly throbbing with fear, and sweat gathering over his skull, tremulous gloved hands imprinting little creases on his pants. He felt like his soul was about to shatter from the pace it beat, and he felt an unusual dizziness as he watched his brother get battered around. Undyne was being… unfair. What was he going to do? Why wasn’t he doing anything?

His brother’s HoPe appeared before his magical sight.

**HP 90/1680**

“OKAY, UNDYNE, I GIVE UP!” Papyrus threw him a sharp glance, as if sensing his distress. Sans grimaced. Undyne didn’t stop. She continued going on and on about his brother being captured so easily. She landed a critical hit. “UNDYNE, PLEASE STOP!”

**HP 76/1680**

“WHAAAAT?” Undyne protested, summoning another spear. Why wasn’t she stopping? “NO! I SAID WE’D FIGHT UNTIL ONE OF US IS UNCONCIOUS! I JUST NEED YOU TO BE UNCONSCIOUS SO I CAN WIN!”

**HP 60/1680**

Suddenly, Sans felt lightheaded, his blaster sight swimming with wisps of his surroundings. Oh… stars. No… His brother never fell unconscious for as long as Sans knew him.

Papyrus’ smaller white eyelights manifested, and he looked as though he realized the same thing. “UNDYNE, I HAVE NEVER FAINTED DURING BATTLE FOR AS FAR AS I REMEMBER! PLEASE STOP ATTACKING!”

“hey, undyne, why not stop now?” Sans called, feeling as if he had detached himself from his body. “pap already announced your win. you don’t need to do this.”

He could hear Frisk also exclaiming that she stop fighting, telling her that she already won.

Undyne sharply glanced at him, frowning petulantly. There was something dangerous in her gaze, something stubborn and expectant. He didn’t know what she wanted from him – because that look of expectation was precisely aimed in his direction – but he felt the piercing flutter of his soul take charge of his mental state. She didn’t answer his near-rhetorical question and prepared another spear, which she hurled at Papyrus. His brother winced visibly when it hit, face filled with a hint of actual fear. There wasn’t even a dent in his brother’s armour, but Sans could tell it wouldn’t take long for Undyne to realize it could happen.

**HP 53/1680**

All of a sudden, Sans couldn’t focus well, sensing shapeless memories of his dusted brother resurfacing at this terrible moment. He struggled to push the thoughts away, but at this moment, seeing his brother in such a vulnerable position tore at his mind. His sight was affected, reflexively tuning into the multiple blaster sights that surrounded the area of battle. A pack of eight circled the two guards at his command, invisible as they were, preparing a battleground without his conscious effort. It felt like his bones rattled at each daring graze of an attack.

“UNDYNE, PLEASE CEASE THIS AT ONCE!” Papyrus said sharply, a trace of urgency clawing in his voice. “THIS IS UNECESSARY. I HAVE SURRENDERED PEACEFULLY!”

**HP 40/1680**

**_Stop her._ **

Sans stood up and staggered forward, magic tense in his marrow. “undyne, please stop, and let my brother go,” he asked nicely, not recognizing his own voice when it came out weakly.

Stars, please let her stop.

 _Please_!

**HP 28/1680**

**_No._ **

“UNDYNE, THIS IS BAD –”

**HP 18/1680**

**_Stop._ **

“YOU’RE STILL NOT UNCONSCIOUS!” Undyne insisted with a frustrated look on her face.

She landed a more precise hit than the last.

**HP 2/1680**

**_NO!_ **

“ ** _p a p y r u s . . . !_** ” Sans choked a cry, giving in to the memories as his magic lashed out and extinguished his eyelights. His magic coalesced around his form, taking a visible form of an artless, but dangerous, white light. Yellow magic formed in his left socket.

He locked his gaze at Undyne’s look of surprise.

“SANS!” his brother called out in shock.

Papyrus… he had nearly died, and barely a few weeks after the barrier broke. He had expected such thing to happen involving the human, but this… this was his brother’s friend. His most trusted friend. Why had she done this? How could she do that to his brother? Papyrus was the most innocent monster he knew!

Quick like lightning, his raging amorphous magic struck Undyne’s front, sending her crashing through boulders and some of the leftover boneyard. Shards of rock and bone flew in each and every direction. Trees splintered apart and fell over, crashing with the same force through other foliage.

Memories of fighting a human surfaced through his thoughts, and he fell deaf to the sound of his words. He recalled seeing his brother turn to dust, just as he saw his brother be held against his will by Undyne. The image of his brother’s vulnerable state alongside being exposed to the human made him inexplicably furious. How dare she…?

“SANS, ARE YOU OKAY?!” Was that Papyrus’ voice? He didn’t know. It felt like he was several dimensions away from his reality. What did he feel? Why did he feel so… _numb_?

“he told you to **_s t o p,_** ” he breathed softly, bowing his head and looking at her from the top edge of his sockets.

He watched with a sort of cold detachment as Undyne cheered rather excitedly at the new battle and recovered her stance. She didn’t look regretful for what she had almost done to his brilliant brother. She nearly dusted Papyrus, and she looked like she was about to have a good time. Did she even know what she almost did? He knew she couldn’t possibly see the stats around his brother, but why… Why didn’t she stop when he said so?

He felt angry, enraged that she had not listened to his brother, that she – a friend of his brother – nearly killed Papyrus. She betrayed his brother. She didn’t _listen_. She hurt Papyrus on purpose, refusing to accept his brother’s surrender in order to get what she wanted, in order to goad _him_ into fighting.

“you should have **_s t o p p e d_** **.** ”

He raised his head and he felt nothing but cold rage when he met her eyes. He could spot the light sweat of nervousness on her head, the panicky twitch of her forced grin. There was something like fear in her eyes, but that couldn’t be, right? Not after what she had done.

“NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A FIGHT!”

He raised his brother from a small baby bones. He had cooked for him, had cleaned him up and made sure he never wanted for anything. He provided most of the gold for their family, gave Papyrus everything he needed to survive in the Underground. He worked several jobs for his brother, saving up money so he could buy materials to make that dream car his brother had always _dreamed_ about.

His brother seldom shed a tear in his presence, and Sans always made sure to soothe every hint of pain, fear and frustration. He had witnessed nightmares, good dreams, the first tears, and the first laughter. He had witnessed how each and every rejection and manipulation affected his brother. He had seen his brother cry himself to sleep after being insulted. He had seen his brother laugh at a silly pun from a joke book.

Papyrus bloomed into a beautiful soul because he held integrity, bravery and belief so closely to his soul, because Sans would not allow anyone to destroy his brother. He helped foster that growth, seen it with his own eyelights how Papyrus evolved from a shy brother into this confident skeleton monster.

Undyne was a threat to that beautiful soul, right now.

 _No one_ used his brother to manipulate other people into action. It was… _unjust_ , right? That just won’t do.

His magic coalesced under Undyne’s boots, and then it exploded outwards as bones. Undyne managed to avoid half of it, but she had walked into a gravity trap that immediately surrounded her body and soul. Sharpened bones pierced through her armour and she cried out in shock, mouth falling open as her eyes watered up with pain.

“y o u  s h o u l d  h a v e **_l i s t e n e d_** **,** ” he whispered through his teeth. “now… i’m going to give you a **b a d  t i m e.** ”

Lifting his left hand, he raised her above a boneyard and slammed her through a thick wall of bones. He watched her HP drop to a dangerous level, but he ignored it, enacting his Karmic Retribution and draining her HP like poison instead of allowing it to completely decrease. She had only a few LOVE from the humans SOULs, but she was in the zone where she was innocent. Karmic Judgement would never allow her HP to reach zero.

“WHAT IS THIS –” There was something in her voice, something filled with emotion.

“don’t speak to me after what you’ve done.”

Undyne was about to protest, but Sans held onto her with blue magic and tossed her through another boneyard. This time, the bones glowed yellow, and they moved like arrows, swift and piercing, chasing after her when he lifted her up again, placing more cracks in her armour than ordinary attacks. Undyne groaned in pain, looking bruised and extremely vulnerable.

He checked her stats.

**HP 100/1500**

It wasn’t enough. _It wasn’t enough!_ She still had a higher tolerance for endurance, and she still had a lot of stamina. His brother… His stamina had reached a lower point, hadn’t it? She attacked his brother after he had begged her not to continue, until he was weakened to two points of HoPe.

It wasn’t all because she wanted his brother to be unconscious for a certain win – it was also to provoke Sans into attacking. _Well, then._

‘ _if that’s how you want it to go, i’ll give you that._ ’

Sans could feel the magic in his sockets assisting in his need for retribution. So she wanted to see his power, did she? Wish not granted. Sans would show her only what he wanted. She didn’t deserve to see what he could do to her.

“SANS, ARE YOU…? Oh… Oh, Sans…” Who was that? Why did they sound so familiar? So warm, light… Why did they sound so worried? He wasn’t hurt.

“HOW DID YOU–?”

Sans glared frostily, and that made Undyne’s face twist into a semblance of shock and realization. “what right have you to ask me questions? we’re not done yet, _guard_.”

“SANS!” Who…?

He heard the sharp whispers of his blasters preparing their beams. He aimed them at the old captain of the guard. Invisible energy filled the air, static zipped through space. He could feel his blasters waiting for the command.

He dropped his arm and released Undyne. She fell callously, but she landed clumsily on her own two feet. There was that look on her face once she regained her composure, but he didn’t care to observe it. He activated the blasters. White magic filled the clearing, and Sans watched as the beams turned visible.

However, just before the beams hit her, someone stepped in front of the beams.

Sans felt something snap back inside his soul, something warm and familiar. His emotions swooped low to a paralyzing horror as he saw exactly who stepped in front of the beams.

It was his brother!

Oh stars.

 _Papyrus_.

He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t look away. He met his brother’s sockets and shed tears of regret, knowing he would be the cause of his brother’s death this time. He felt paralyzed, locked in place. He _couldn’t_ … He –

Papyrus smiled at him, as if it wasn’t a problem that he was about to die. They stared for what felt like an eternity, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Why wasn’t he doing anything? He should step out of the way! Undyne wasn’t – she wasn’t that hurt – he wouldn’t just…

Sans would _die_ if Papyrus died. He didn’t want a life without Papyrus! He should…! He could –

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have neglected this fic so much. How many months has it been for this poor thing?
> 
> [progress and stuff](https://ibeta.tumblr.com/progress)


	9. ...a little dizzy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is panicking. Frisk is panicking. Papyrus is not panicking. Undyne is having a bad time.
> 
> The royals have arrived. Alphys is panicking.
> 
> Papyrus is long-suffering, but he loves Sans anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no concept of time when I'm in the writing zone, but I hope you love this! I have a gift for you somewhere in the story (you know who you are xD).

The dusting didn’t happen.

When the attack reached his brother, Sans sensed his soul screaming with desperation. The beams of light forcefully curved over and around Papyrus under the command of his soul, acting like a cage of magic as it avoided hitting his brother. It broke their gaze as his brother looked away. Papyrus’ stunned sockets regarded the beams with innocent wonder. His face lit up with happiness, a hint of something so precious in his expression, endearingly fond.

He looked striking. _Beautiful_.

The beams made a powerful sound – sharp and ringing – when it hit Undyne. The pulse hurled Papyrus forward, who looked stunned by the strength of the hit. It didn’t damage any more of his HP, as if he was immune to it.

Without regard for his single HP, Sans jolted into the quickest sprint he could muster and caught his brother. Papyrus reached for him as well and secured his arms around him, rolling them to the ground to avoid stray debris. They stopped rolling, with Papyrus shielding him from the lighter fragments above.

Sans’ magic reacted swiftly, and his near-solid cyan magic manifested a dome to cover them. Its properties of blue and green stopped the dangerous fragments from decreasing their HP even further.

Underneath Papyrus, Sans breathed in his brother’s scent, committing it to memory, emotionally worn-out by past memories and fear that had filled him. For a moment, he had nearly lost his brother through his own magic. His Papyrus, his _little star_ …

_Papyrus._

He would have never forgiven his soul if Papyrus died. He would have… He would have done something–

 _Stars_.

What had he been thinking? Why had he… blanked out, like that?

_Stars._

Without notice, more tears fell from his sockets. He sobbed into his brother’s scarf, soaking it with his tears, muffled words lost in the fabric as he apologized profusely.

“ _i’m so sorry, pap._ i’m sorry,” he wept in distress and shock. The grip around him tightened comfortingly. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve this kindness. He nearly… He had done something _unforgivable_! “i nearly… i… pap… paps, i nearly d-dusted you… pap… m-my little bro. m’star… i… i would _never_ … never, pap. _never…_!”

“Sans, shhh…” Papyrus murmured on top of his skull. Sans felt the soft buzz of magic that signified a skeleton kiss. He really didn’t deserve his brother. “It’s okay, Sans. I’m here. I’m all right. I understand.”

“i’m sorry!” he gasped guiltily, gripping his brother’s armour desperately closer. Stars, what would he have done if he had actually…? _Stars, no. Please, no._ “i… i’m so sorry, papy. _i’m so sorry!_ ”

“Look at me, brother. See for yourself – I am _safe_ , Sans.”

Falteringly, he raised his gaze to his brother’s face, bones trembling with disbelief, reluctant to take his brother’s word for it. Papyrus looked down at him with gentleness, nothing accusing, nothing harsh or closed. His sockets expressed a light concern, brows furrowed a hint of relief, and his mouth twisted into a small, forgiving smile. There wasn’t a crack on his precious skull, nothing fractured around what parts of his neck Sans could see. There was no evidence of even a stray hit from his blaster, not even when he had seen… or had he seen that little stray beam…? Was it a lie fuelled by his mind?

“i’m sorry,” he whispered again, unable to stop his tears of relief and fear.

Papyrus’ features turned soft and fond, and then he leaned his forehead against his and murmured another reassurance. Simultaneously, they shared an unspoken agreement. They searched each other for damage, hands lightly touching, and turning bones over with a careful hold, just until Sans felt his blasters unwind. He didn’t know how Papyrus could tell they were there, but noticed his brother had glanced to one of the invisible blasters, like he could see them clearly.

His brother’s gaze turned back to him, and Sans noticed Papyrus’ fond smile. “See? I am all right, Sans! You don’t seem hurt, either.”

“i’m not,” he whispered softly, leaning up and placing his head back beside his brother’s neck. He felt his brother’s hand cradle the back of his skull, holding him closely. “you’re okay…”

He felt exhausted. He wanted to sleep, but he wanted to make sure Papyrus felt truly fine. He needed… He needed to keep his brother safe. Why were they still on the ground? What had he…? He felt for his brother’s scarf and encountered fragments of something. He lifted his head and he picked out a tiny splinter of wood from the scarf. A small thing compared to his mittens.

 _Oh_. He had a fight… Oh no. The dome of magic dispersed at a single thought.

He glanced back at where Undyne was knocked unconscious by the attack. Sans checked her stats. No more stamina, endurance straining. Her HP was a single point, and her status showed that she participated in a strenuous fight against a judge, with a calculated recovery of six days of bed-rest, four days if she didn’t strain herself, and a two days if she ate some monster food cooked by a kind master cook. She still had to take bed-rest, no exceptions. Karmic Retribution from him didn’t allow anyone to be spared.

Surveying the evidence of his rampage, Sans let out a small grimace. Well. It couldn’t be said that he couldn’t defend himself, right?

“Sans, we should… probably get up…?” Papyrus sounded hesitant, but he continued sliding his gloved fingers across the back of his skull. It felt amazing. It felt like… like Papyrus infused warmth in him through his magic. It felt like his brother was healing him. “We… we should check on Undyne.”

Sans blushed, and then nodded timidly, feeling smaller than usual in his brother’s arms – smaller, but safe... _protected_. “you’re right,” he murmured reluctantly.

Papyrus hauled them both into a sitting position without releasing him. He was about to ask why, but then he felt Papyrus’ gloved hand urgently nudge his skull back into his scarf before he could even lift his head. The sound of footsteps reached his hearing, and Sans felt Papyrus clutch him closer, as though afraid to let him go. He shut his sockets and buried his head into his brother’s scarf, willing to go along with it.

It turned out to be the human that stopped near them. They asked about their state of being, expressing concern over Sans’ sudden interruption of the fight. If Sans was being honest, he’d rather not deal with the human right now.

“OH, HELLO, HUMAN! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS GLAD THAT YOU ARE FINE!” Papyrus began with that tone in his voice that said he was trying to hide something. “WE ARE ALSO FINE! SANS HAD A NIGHTMARE LAST NIGHT. I THINK… SOMETHING ABOUT THE FIGHT TRIGGERED HIM? OH? WHY, HE IS ONLY NAPPING! HE GOT TIRED.”

His brother lied. Why was he lying? Even if it was true about the nightmare… his brother couldn’t possibly know, right?

The human continued to talk about something, but Sans couldn’t hear them properly. He knew, somehow, with absolute certainty, that Papyrus would deal with everything else for him. It came from the way his brother held him so protectively. He could only hope his brother would tell the others that he didn’t mean to snap like that. Alphys would be worried sick. She had only gotten together with Undyne so recently, too.

Papyrus interrupted the human in the middle of their speech, standing up abruptly. It was a good thing Sans had inadvertently wrapped his legs around his brother’s waist area when Papyrus sat them up. It must have looked funny from a non-monster’s point of view, with his femurs hitched on Papyrus’ iliac crests and his brother’s arm under him to support his weight and one around his shoulders to keep him close.

“I’M SORRY TO CUT THIS CONVERSATION SHORT, HUMAN, BUT WE NEED TO CHECK ON UNDYNE.”

Once they reach Undyne’s side, only a few steps beside the human, Sans realized that Papyrus was trying to keep his tear-stained face out of sight. His brother would turn him away whenever the human tried to step beside him, bodily turning so Sans would be out of range… or the human would be out of range. Papyrus always made sure that the human was in view, never turning his back at them.

Like he was trying to… to do what, exactly? Was Papyrus trying to… protect him? Did that mean…? Wait. Those tricks… could it be…? His brother had never done things like that without reason. Why would he...?

As if sensing his thoughts, Papyrus nuzzled the side of his head before planting a stealthy kiss on his sphenoid bone, humming a low, comforting tone, as if he was soothing Sans from a nightmare. Sans fought a flush that threatened to overcome his supposedly dozing face. He needed to pretend to be asleep, after all.

“WELL, HUMAN, IT SEEMS THAT UNDYNE IS MERELY UNCONSCIOUS, FROM WHAT I HAVE GATHERED,” Papyrus declared dramatically, a hint of uneasiness for his friend.

Sans couldn’t understand why he would still trust her, but he supposed Papyrus saw something in Undyne that Sans couldn’t see. He should… he should probably trust his brother’s judgement in that regard. Maybe Sans could give Undyne a stern lecture about surrender later. Not that he could talk – he dusted the human when they spared him, after all. But… it wasn’t like she knew that, right?

The human expressed their relief. They said something about calling someone for help, to maybe carry Undyne inside her house.

“I NEED YOU TO CALL… THE QUEEN, PERHAPS? I AM UNABLE TO REACH FOR MY PHONE AS OF NOW. I NEED TO CARRY MY BROTHER HOME. THE QUEEN IS ABLE TO COOK MONSTER FOOD THAT FULLY HEALS A MONSTER’S HP. MY BROTHER COULD DO IT, BUT IT ONLY WORKS FOR… _FAMILY_.”

 _Now_ he knew Papyrus was definitely hiding something. Sans could cook full-HP monster food if he wanted. Sans just… He preferred it when no one else besides his brother ate his meals. He’d gotten used to feeding his little brother so much, only cooking for the two of them. He didn’t like to share food he made with others, not unless the monster in question turned out to be his brother. It wasn’t… It was wrong to give it to someone else. Any food that he made also felt like his brother’s food. If he gave his food away, it felt like giving his brother’s food away.

That was how he managed to feed them both without the help of other monsters – hoarding.

The human told Papyrus to go home and rest, but Papyrus shook his head. Sans jostled at the movement and wrapped his arms snuggly around his brother’s neck as much as he could without making it seem like he was awake. Papyrus helped by using his arm to make it seem like he was urging Sans to grip him more tightly in his fictional sleep.

“NO, I HAVE TO WAIT HERE. SOMEONE NEEDS TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED. SANS CAN BARELY WAKE AS IT IS. WHEN HE TAKES NAPS LIKE THIS, IT TAKES HOURS TO WAKE HIM UP! TRUST ME. I HAVE TRIED EVERY TECHNIQUE POSSIBLE TO WAKE A MONSTER FROM THEIR SLUMBER. THE MORE I NUDGE HIM, THE MORE HE CLINGS!”

The human agreed that he wait, and then they called Tori on the phone. He couldn’t hear what they said, but it must have been shocking enough that it was short. Papyrus then told Frisk to call Alphys, telling them that it would be a good idea to tell her that Undyne went too far during training and that she fell unconscious after she was defeated. Sans didn’t know how Alphys would react to seeing Undyne so… battered, but it would probably end up with shock.

“AH, IS THAT – OH, IT IS!” Papyrus affected a tone of stagy surprise. Sans couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not. Had his brother been so traumatized by what happened to his friend that he started acting weird? Why was he acting so… acting so nonchalant about all this? He hurt his friend! “LOOK HUMAN, IT’S THE QUEEN! OH MY, SHE BROUGHT EVERYONE HERE! THAT WAS QUICK!”

“Papyrus!” Tori called out. Sans could hear rushing footsteps and wheezing. It sounded kind of like Asgore, really. King Fluffybuns and Alphys. The human called out their names. “Oh – oooh my, it seems like we have a problem. Not to worry, Papyrus, I have brought monster food to help her heal.”

“O-oh n-n-no, Undyne!” Oh stars, how was he going to explain that to Alphys?

“What has happened here, Papyrus?” Asgore questioned worriedly.

“OH, IT WAS TRAINING, KING ASGORE!” Papyrus exclaimed sadly. “UNDYNE SAID WE WERE GOING TO TRAIN UNTIL ONE OF US FAINTS, AND, WELL, ONCE UNDYNE HAD ME TRAPPED, I SURRENDERED. HOWEVER, IT SEEMED LIKE UNDYNE WAS NOT STOPPING! I ASKED HER TO STOP, SANS ASKED HER TO STOP, THE LITTLE HUMAN ASKED HER TO STOP, BUT SHE DID NOT! SHE WAS… WELL, SHE WAS GOADING SANS INTO FIGHTING HER.”

What?

“What?” Asgore had never before sounded so horrified in Sans’ limited skeleton life.

“What?!” Tori exclaimed, already a hint of motherly protectiveness in her voice.

“B-b-but Undyne is stronger t-t-than Sans! He’s not even a part of the Royal Guard!” Alphys exclaimed. “She c-couldn’t… but… maybe…”

How did his brother know? Sans desperately wanted to ask, but it sounded ridiculously insulting. His brother could be perceptive, could detect things much more empathically regarding others’ emotional health. Cleverness ran in his brother’s marrow. There also wasn’t a part of Papyrus that expressed ineptitude or malicious deceit. Papyrus could be a trickster when he wanted to be, and he was an excellent strategist when it came to tricking Sans into accidentally picking up a sock. He must have noticed Undyne’s suspicious actions earlier.

“OH, UNDYNE MIGHT HAVE TRIED HIDING HER MOTIVES,” Papyrus suddenly sounded deeply grave, “BUT I KNOW WHEN SHE’S PLANNING SOMETHING. SHE NEARLY… AH, SHE NEARLY…”

His brother sounded off, as if cross with what Undyne had done. Papyrus didn’t seem to want to continue, so the human started talking. He held Sans closer and allowed the human to tell the story, interjecting here and there whenever the human lost track of the event.

“D-did you say t-t-that you trained around here…?”

“OH, WE DID, AND, WELL… WE MADE A MESS OF THINGS.”

“I-I-I c-could have a-access to the f-f-footage of security if –”

Sans wondered vaguely why she would still have access to the security surveillance in the Underground without being a part of the castle team. Toriel cleared her throat, but Papyrus beat her to questioning Alphys.

“DR. ALPHYS, I THOUGHT YOU WERE FIRED FROM BEING THE ROYAL SCIENTIST?”

“O-oh, y-yeah,” Alphys giggled nervously. She probably still had a backdoor access when it came to security near Undyne’s area in Waterfall. “I mean M-Mettaton m-m-might have access to the s-security footage near the area.”

“Is he not that robot actor?” Tori questioned shrewdly. “Why would he have access to the footage?”

“O-Oh, I… um…”

Asgore managed to convince Tori to ignore Alphys and focus on the task on hand. From what Sans could hear, they were observing the security footage from Alphys’ device, which she had handed willingly after Toriel had given her a stern lecture about having access to security when she was not a part of the Royal Guard. He could hear from the device the soft tones of his voice calling out to Papyrus for a break.

Somewhere around that part, he heard Alphys squeak. Tori even sounded embarrassed when she cleared her throat. Asgore offered a nervous chuckle. It must have been the part where Undyne nearly skewered him with a spear when she had aimed the hit at Papyrus.

“O-oh my, I-I see –” Tori stammered.

“I-I guess… T-that explains it,” he heard Alphys mumble.

“Sans becomes protective in this moment – here, see – when Undyne inadvertently threatened Papyrus’ life,” Asgore declared solemnly. The sound from the video paused, just before Sans stepped into the fray. “Even as a judge, Sans would have had to resolve the issue regardless of his connection to Papyrus. See here, too – it is not until after each one of them gave her the option to stop that he interferes. What Undyne did is inexcusable. She should have stopped long before they asked her to stop –”

“You made Sans a judge?” the queen questioned sharply, a hint of reprimand and disapproval in her usually mellow voice.

“W-well, uh, Tori – I mean, Toriel –”

Someone clicked the video to play again. It must have been the kid, based on the sounds of awe coming from them. The sound of fighting became harsher when Sans had stepped in.

Papyrus started tapping a soft rhythm on the crown of his skull. Each tap sent a soft rush of magic into him. He wanted to tell Papyrus it wasn’t necessary, but the magic felt soothingly familiar. It washed away his fighting response to Undyne’s magical residue in the area.

“As… as, uh, you can see, Sans is a great judge.”

“O-oh. I… see. Well, this… I suppose Sans would be an excellent _judge_ of character.”

Sans wanted to laugh hysterically. Tori – stars, only she would pun at a time like this, when there was an unconscious fish monster in the area.

“H-how…?” Alphys stuttered.

“PARDON ME, YOUR MAJESTIES, DOCTOR ALPHYS,” Papyrus interrupted awkwardly, shifting Sans in his patient grip. Sans added to the lie with a soft groan. Immediately, Papyrus murmured a quiet string of reassurances before he continued, “IF THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE NEED OF ME, I WOULD LIKE TO BE DISMISSED. I NEED TO TAKE SANS HOME. HE NEEDS TO REST AFTER A TAXING DAY LIKE THIS.”

“Oh my, I’m so sorry!” Tori sounded flustered. “I completely lost track of – yes, you may be excused, Papyrus. We will take care of this and make sure Undyne heals.”

Papyrus nodded happily. “THANK YOU, YOUR MAJESTY.”

His brother hurriedly walked away, cradling his body close. From the odd tension in the air, Sans could sense his brother’s energy starting to come back. He didn’t understand how it worked, but he could feel it pulsing between them. He checked his brother’s stats.

 **Papyrus**  
**LV 1**  
**HP 13/1680**  
**AT 20**  
**DF 40**

*** Your beloved brother, the most important person in your life. He has low HP right now, but he is healing from your souls’ proximity.**

Oh. Sans relaxed in his brother’s grip. It was some kind of reciprocal healing. Maybe it was some nice family reassurance thing. It happened sometimes between family members. Otherwise, soul proximity healed HP between anyone that felt close enough to synchronize a compatible beat.

“Sans, are you okay?” came the low whisper across the side of his skull.

“i’m okay, bro,” he whispered back just as lowly as he could. “how about you?” he questioned just as quickly.

Papyrus chuckled quietly. “Other than yourself, Undyne and my scarf, I have nothing else to worry about.”

Immediately, Sans felt guilty for worrying his brother. That scarf was nearly as old as his brother, from an extremely comfortable blanket cloth to a scarf. He also felt guilty for snapping at Undyne with his magic. He probably should have found a way to knock her unconscious. Maybe stun her, or threaten to report her to Asgore or Alphys if she didn’t stop.

He hadn’t done any of those. Instead, he had taken justice in his hands and did to it what he willed.

“i’m sorry, pap,” he murmured, tucking his head closer in shame. “i’ll fix your scarf and apologize to undyne later.”

“Sans, you’re not at fault! I was afraid that she would…” Papyrus trailed off, but Sans could fill out the rest of his silence. He glowered at his brother’s scarf, feeling annoyed at Undyne for not stopping in the first place. Maybe he shouldn’t feel guilty. “Besides…” Papyrus murmured softly. “You saved my life, brother. I am thankful for what you did… And, even if it seems excessive, you looked really cool.”

Sans flushed reflexively as he turned his head back to Papyrus’ scarf. “you’re cooler, though, right?” he asked in a small voice. Did Papyrus really think that?

“We’re both equally cool,” his brother confirmed sweetly.  Sans felt satisfaction fill him at his brother’s words.

“thanks, bro.”

“Sans…”

“yes, pap?”

“Do you… ah…” Papyrus stopped his long strides and glanced around sharply. Sans pulled his head away from his brother’s neck and watched as Papyrus’ face twisted in contemplation. His brother’s gaze locked onto his, something serious in his expression. “Do you think you could do that thing, that magic that allowed you to bring us here quickly, to bring us home?”

Sans felt sweat gather on his skull. He hadn’t really meant for Papyrus to pay attention to that particular skillset of his. He’d just wanted to… _surprise_ his bro for a bit. He would have waved the magic away later, tell his bro it was some kind of special device that worked once, or… or… something.

He should probably say no.

But Papyrus kept staring at him intently, hidden eyelights roving over him, like he was being analyzed for any hint of discomfort. He didn’t think he could wave away his powers like the ‘monster’ underneath his brother’s bed (Sans ended that nasty nightmare with a race car bed).

“yes,” he replied honestly. And, really, what was the point of hiding it? If the kid does another reset, it would just… all go away.

As if hearing something else in his reply, Papyrus calculating look melted away and softened into something that spoke of understanding. “Could you take us home, please?”

Sans badly wanted to tuck his skull inside his hood as he said, “could you make sure we aren’t seen?”

He expected Papyrus to question him, pry into his secret-keeping ways. He’d also expected Papyrus to drop him on his feet so he didn’t have to carry him around. He didn’t expect Papyrus to nod determinedly and begin searching for the most obscure part of Waterfall, without putting him on the ground.

In only a short moment, his brother managed to find one of his shortcut spots. How… curious.

“Is this a better place?” Papyrus inquired, tilting his skull to a side to indicate at the blind spot.

Sans followed the gesture and saw the familiar carving of a winged circle on the closest trees. They were artificial trees he had planted directly on the area for extra obscurity.  He nodded.

“There seems to be a lack of surveillance in this area – we rarely scouted this place as sentries.”

“i know,” Sans muttered as he dragged them both suddenly into a shortcut.

Papyrus yelped in surprise when they landed next to the couch, stance faltering. Due to the extra weight, Papyrus tipped over. Sans gripped at his brother’s shoulder tightly when Papyrus redirected their fall with a push of blue magic. They managed to crash into the cushions with a unified squawk of shock.

He lifted his head and found his lower legs tucked behind Papyrus’ pelvis, cushioned by their combined weight on the couch.

“pap, you okay?”

His brother lifted his head from where he stared at the ceiling with a blank look on his face. He looked like he was about to reply, but he failed. Sans’ extra mittens, which had been resting on the arm of the couch, landed haphazardly over his brother’s face just as he opened his mouth.

Sans started giggling immediately, despite the guilt clawing at his soul for making Papyrus worry about him. “ _stars_ , pap. you need a _hand_ with that?” He knew he shouldn’t be laughing after that near-death situation, but it was like his mouth had no filter when things like this happened after feeling overwhelmed by his emotions.

“STARS, SANS, A PUN AT A TIME LIKE THIS...” Papyrus bemoaned, placing a hand on the mitten to grasp it. “WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO US?”

“i can’t help it!” Sans snickered.

“YOU SHOULD HAVE WARNED ME!” Papyrus accused light-heartedly, before turning his skull and dropping the mittens at the front of the couch. His brother crossed his arms expectantly, one browridge rose as Papyrus stared at him while he laughed.

“s-s-s-sorry,” Sans choked, giggling uncontrollably.

“UGH!” A thousand complaints, that. Papyrus slid his hands over Sans’ femur and grasped it lightly. Sans’ femurs trembled a little before it settled, the unfamiliar touch affecting his sensitive bones.

“next time, i’ll try to fall underneath you,” he said jokingly, knowing that he might be crushed under the bulk of Papyrus’ metal-coated armour if he tried catching his brother like that. He would have taken them to a shortcut to bed if Papyrus hadn’t made sure he kept the weight of the armour from crushing him.

Papyrus gasped and his grip tightened momentarily. Sans’ femurs twitched at the sudden grip. There was a curious orange blush on his skull as his brother stared down at their pelvis.

“what’s up, bro?” he asked worriedly, glancing down at where he sat.

There wasn’t anything remarkable on his pants, unless a monster counted the little fragments of wood clinging onto the material. He should probably clean it up, and then prepare some kind of apology speech for Undyne and the kid for scaring them both. Papyrus seemed… he seemed a little too relaxed. Sans would have to find out _why_ , but later – he was still emotionally unbalanced.

“Could you, uh…” Papyrus cleared his throat. “Could you, perhaps, lift yourself…?” His brother had never before sounded like he was embarrassed about something so innocent until now. Was he embarrassed for looking… uncool, somehow? He didn’t look uncool.

After staring at his brother blankly for a short minute, Sans realized he was sort of pinning down his brother with his weight when Papyrus glanced down pointedly. He flushed abruptly, knowing this was what his brother meant, not anything related to looking uncool. He was probably uncomfortable, with Sans’ bones digging into his hips and femurs.

“oh,” he uttered with mortification. He surveyed their tangled bones, wondering how he was about to separate them safely. He shuffled lightly, but it only served to make him know he couldn’t move unless… “um… if you push up your hips, i might be able to untangle our bones.”

As if on cue, Papyrus’ face flushed even further. “O-OKAY.”

Papyrus carefully lifted his hip while Sans moved to untangle their legs. Once they were safely separated, Papyrus’ hip slumped back into the cushion, and Sans sat beside him on the crease of the couch, and started wondering how in the world he was going to explain to Tori about what he’d done to Undyne.

He groaned quietly and leaned his head in his mittens.

As if reading his mind, Papyrus said, “Sans, they will not blame you for what you’ve done. Undyne has gone too far.”

Sans lifted his head and glances at his brother in surprise. “you… you’re not… scared of me? or… angry, at what i did?” Stars, if his brother becomes terrified of his power… Sans tried not to think about it.

Papyrus wrapped a single arm around him and pulls him close. Sans twisted his body to hug him back, soaking in the affection his brother showered him.

“OF COURSE NOT, BROTHER! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A COURAGEOUS MONSTER. SOME FIGHT WITH UNDYNE WILL NOT SCARE ME AWAY FROM YOU! YOU STOPPED HER JUST IN TIME!”

“t-thanks, bro.” Sans buried his head in his brother’s scarf and nearly poked his socket on a splinter of wood. He pulled away and gazed at his brother’s battle body for a moment. It needed some time to be fixed in the lab, he figured. Taking out splinters took a while, and maybe fixing some of the dents would be wise. “oh. i guess we need to clean this up, huh? your battle body needs to be brushed down.”

Papyrus looked at him, sockets traveling across his attire. “OH, YOU ARE CORRECT! I DO NEED TO – OH NO!” Papyrus gasped, “SANS! EVEN YOUR CLOTHES NEED WASHING!”

Sans immediately glanced down and could almost sigh at the state of his clothes. “you’re right, pap.”

He didn’t think he’d have to change into other clothes after finding something as comfortable as this one. He hadn’t really expect anything extreme to happen today, so most of his down jackets were neglected with his regular hoods, and this was the last clean one.

Papyrus sounded worried. “I DON’T THINK IT WILL DAMAGE YOUR CLOTHES, BUT IT MIGHT TAKE A WHILE TO REMOVE THE SPLINTERS.”

Sans wanted to laugh. If Papyrus shoved the jacket into the washer, it wouldn’t be salvageable. The little threads would surround the splinter and the cloth would be ruined completely.

“i guess we’ll need a change of clothes,” he muttered, pulling away from Papyrus to stand up. Papyrus looked utterly confused by his statement. “i’ll go see if you have some clean clothes –”

“I’ll go with you,” Papyrus offered.

Sans smiled as his brother got up from the couch, and proceeded to link their arms together. He didn’t know how his brother knew he was about to take a shortcut, but he must have sensed it, somehow. Maybe he got used to the pattern and felt Sans’ magic in the air.

They took a shortcut to Papyrus’ room at first, with Sans warning his brother about what he was about to do before he dropped them off. His brother ran to open the door near the window and rummaged through his closet. His brother made a curiously triumphant sound – he must have found something interesting in one of the little boxes hidden behind more clothes.

“Sans, take this,” Papyrus said as he handed a box to him. “This is yours!”

Sans took it, bemused. Curiously enough, it’s gift-wrapped in blue paper, with little white scribbles of bones on the surface, an extremely bad pun written on the top saying, ‘ _To My Humerus Brother_ ’. A smile quickly bloomed on his face at the pun. He quickly stripped the mittens from his hands and dropped them on the floor, and then he picked off the tape holding the gift together.

When Sans opened the box, he started laughing so loudly, a wide smile on his face. He glanced up at Papyrus and saw his brother beaming proudly. He pulled out the soft, blue jacket, the pair of equally soft black pants and the envelope on top of it, making his way to the carpet and taking a seat.

“should i read it?” Sans questioned, excited by the thought of reading the letter. What would his brother have written in it? When had he prepared this gift?

Papyrus nodded eagerly, motioning a hand for him to read it. Sans didn’t question why his brother stayed silent – his brother probably didn’t want to spoil the surprise. The melted blue wax keeping it together popped off easily. He grabbed the paper, folded it open and started reading.

“ _Dearest Sans,_

_As your coolest brother, it is my greatest pleasure to present to you these clothes I have sewn. You have clothes older than me, and I know you have not replaced any of your clothes even when they are old and falling apart. If your clothes are ever ruined, most especially that pair you always wear, I will give this present to you._

_Love,  
Papyrus._ ”

“pap,” Sans murmured, incredibly grateful for the gift and his brother’s thoughtfulness. He buried his free hand into the blue jacket, careful not to stick too close. Splinters could fall on top of it. He glanced up at his brother, soul filled with warm affection. “pap, this is… _thank you_ …”

He couldn’t describe how it felt, that Papyrus had something like this ready for him when the time came that something would ruin his favourite outfit. It reminded him of another box, the one hidden in the lab. He stole a glance at the jacket and smiled softly. It seemed like they had the same idea at that time.

“You should probably test it on,” Papyrus replied with an ecstatic smile, shifting on each foot with excitement. He paused, a crafty little grin lifting up his cheekbones. “Although… perhaps you could read out the message I hid on the clothes.”

Brimming with excitement, Sans placed the letter inside the box and grabbed the soft jacket, unzipping the little pull that had a design of a bone. There was a tank top folded in the sleeve, with words “ _lazybones_ ” stitched expertly on the front. The stitched writing that greeted him inside the back of the jacket made him burst out in laughter.

“ _i may be chill to the bone,_ ” Sans wheezed out through his cackling, “ _but my jokes are never bone dry. it will always tickle a funny bone._ oh my stars, pap, this is perfect!”

Papyrus continued to smile smugly, sockets nearly sparkling with his magic. “Of course it is! The Great Papyrus has the coolest gifts to give,” he boasted in a rather modest tone. Sans didn’t know of any monster that could sound the same way and express such confidence and humbleness. “However, that is not all. Check the pants I gave you.”

Sans hurriedly went to turn out the pair of pants and cracked up at the message. “ _you’ve got a bone to pick with me? i’d put a lot of backbone into it if i were you._ this is _amazing_ , papyrus. bro, this… this is perfect! _oh my stars!_ ”

Tears of hilarity gathered at the edges of his sockets. He couldn’t help the laughter or the wide smile on his face. Holy stars, this is incredible!

“Of course it is!” Papyrus confirmed. He sounded glad. “I made it for you!”

Sans’ laughter tapered off into little giggles as he thumbed the letters, a brightness in his soul washing away his earlier doubts. His brother was never scared in the first place. This only proved it.

“why is it hidden inside, though?” he asked in curiosity. It was bugging him. It didn’t seem practical if it was hidden inside the clothes, without anyone to know it was there in the beginning. “n-not that i think it’s not great, but… i would have thought to add it where everyone can read it.” His brother didn’t reply. Tracing the words with a phalange, he glanced up at his brother, who suddenly looked like… “paps?” he whispered.

Papyrus’ mouth twisted in a sly smile that spoke of planned mischief. “I thought it would be our greatest _inside joke_.”

Sans stiffened in surprise at the pun. _What?_

Holy stars.

_Masterfully executed!_

His brother is _perfect_. No one else had a cool brother like him!

“ _papyrus!_ ” Sans choked out, laughing wildly as magic flushed his bones. “holy stars! w-was that – did you just – _bro!_ ”

He tossed the clothes into the box and stood up, rushing to hug his brother. He leaned up and Papyrus leaned down, laughing with Sans as he secured him in his arms. Their foreheads met with a soft _clack_ , muffled by the magic between their skulls. Security filled his soul.

“pap, holy – holy stars, that was perfect – _you_ are perfect,” Sans gasped in hilarity, arching up and nuzzling his brother’s neck with happiness. He has the greatest bro, _ever_! He heard Papyrus hum a soft tune and felt his brother’s teeth bestow gentle skeleton kisses all over his skull. “i feel so proud – that was – it’s just so – _holy stars, pap!_ ”

Papyrus chuckled gently. “All this for a silly little joke? Brother, I think your standards are falling.”

Sans nearly cracked his ribs from laughing. “or your skills are getting higher, bro!”

His brother’s face flushed with magic. Sans could feel the warmth seeping into his bones. He wanted to thank his brother for the gift. He wanted to give his own present, the one hidden in the lab. He had no doubts that Papyrus would like it.

“thanks, bro.”

“You are welcome, Sans,” Papyrus murmured on the crown of his head.

He turned his head and tried to plant a kiss of his own on Papyrus cheek, but Papyrus twisted at the same time and Sans accidentally met his mouth instead. He and his brother froze in unison.

 _Oh._ The shaky inhale he made was met with a sharper one. The magic that ignited between them sent his mind spinning away, soul rapidly fluttering with overwhelming emotions, and his bones flushed with magic. For a moment of absorbing the energy, he lost complete control of his body. He would have fallen down as a pile of bones on the floor if not for Papyrus’ secure grip around his ribs.

He felt dizzy – _light-headed_. His bones felt heated with magic coming from their point of contact. Everything inside him felt captivated, so transfixed in the sensation that he started moving closer without any sense of mind. He was aware, but at the same time, he wasn’t controlling his body. His magic wanted to be closer, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t get any closer, not close enough. There was something in the way, but he didn’t know _what_.

Slowly and carefully, Papyrus dragged his teeth softly over his, and Sans’ soul stuttered at the magic that reacted with affection. His grip faltered on his brother’s back for a second before he managed to catch an edge of his brother’s scarf and return the gesture. The movement produced more of that tempting earnestness, of that odd passion that also felt affectionate.

It took all of his willpower, but Sans finally pulled away after a moment’s hesitation. There was an orange glow in his brother’s socket, pulsating with power and warmth. His brother gazed at him with a happy expression, smile spirited and sincere.

“Thank you, Sans.”

“y-you’re welcome, bro,” Sans replied in a whisper. What was that? What was that _passion_ …? It felt familiar, but at the same time, it wasn’t. It felt like affection, but shades different from what he recognized.

There’s something at the edge of his mind, nagging at him to notice it, but when he tried to analyze it deeply, Papyrus made a noise of excitement and hug him close. “We should probably get you dressed, brother!” he exclaimed.

Sans panicked at the thought of wearing those amazing clothes for everyday use. Something inside him protested at wearing it casually. It’s their secret. It’s Papyrus’ gift – shouldn’t he be the only one to know about it?

“you know, bro,” Sans deliberated, “i should probably use it for something special.”

Papyrus pulled away, and his face looked unreadable as he tilted his head. The orange magic was gone. “For a special occasion?”

Sans didn’t know why that look sent his skull blushing. “yeah, i just… i don’t want it to… i mean…” Sans struggled to find the words. “it’s special,” he finished lamely. ‘ _what if… what if it gets messy and i tear it or it rips or…?_ ’

Papyrus beamed. “I SEE! YOU DO NOT WANT TO OVERUSE IT AND WEAR IT OUT!” Papyrus guessed accurately. Sans sighed and nodded in relief, glad his brother could understand what he couldn’t vocalize. “NOT TO WORRY, BROTHER! THE CLOTHING IS MADE WITH MAGIC BEFORE I USED ACTUAL CLOTHING! IF SOMETHING HAPPENS, COME TO ME AND WE WILL FIX IT!”

Sans relaxed in his grip. Of course Papyrus would know how to fix it. He made it, hadn’t he? As long as they share the little _inside_ jokes, it only mattered that Papyrus knew Sans loved it. He needed to… he wanted…

He wanted something, but he didn’t know what it was. It was frustrating, but he had a lot of time, a lot of patience. Sans would figure it out one way or another. There must be books on the thing somewhere in the Underground. If not, he’d ask his friends as a last resort – that is, if Tori wasn’t mad or scared of him.

“you should see what i got you,” Sans replied, hands withdrawing from the hug to grasp the sides of his brother’s skull. He watched the curious look grow into surprise. Papyrus’ smile brightened significantly, as if the gift meant so much to him. It probably meant a lot – Papyrus received gifts, but gifts that equated to the two of them preparing for things like this would show Papyrus that Sans could plan ahead. “i think you’ll like it.”

Papyrus’ astonished and delighted look would probably get him through the upcoming talk with the royals.

––––

Despite his excitement, Papyrus wanted to wait until tomorrow to accept his gift, mentioning that he had extra clothes. Sans had agreed readily with a soft smile, obviously tired from the fight. He also offered to help Sans through his talk with the Queen and the King, claiming that he could pretend to be them, and Sans could pretend he was speaking with the Majesties. Sans had laughed and agreed, although there was a pensive tone in his voice.

Sans had accepted with a look of relief, and then Papyrus had ushered him into the bathroom to change. When his brother came out looking so adorably soft and sleepy, bones covered by a gift that he had crafted, it nearly sent him spiraling into a series of impatient actions. Fortunately for the both of them, Papyrus had enough patience to restrain himself, to stop himself from taking more than what Sans could give. He went to the bathroom and cleaned himself, and then changed into a pair of black pajama pants and a red pajama top.

That kiss had nearly broken that tight leash he had on his desires. He wanted to pin Sans onto the wall, to take his time devouring each and every moan, to lick every square inch of him until he was a shivering pile of bones, to join their souls and shower him with affection –

Papyrus had nearly slipped with his magic, but he persevered, thanking his brother for the kiss, no matter how accidental. Sans did not seem to be ready yet. He still did not see the signs that Papyrus reciprocated his love! He had _kissed_ Papyrus and it did not register in his brother’s mind that it could have barely been platonic, not with the way Papyrus had kissed him! Even if it was accidental, the way Papyrus’ soul had responded with such fervent passion should have notified Sans immediately of his feelings!

Papyrus shook his head as he meticulously vacuumed their other clothes of splinters. His scarf had needed mending, so Sans had taken it to his room and came back with it looking nearly immaculate. The tear had disappeared and the threads looked like it was made from new clothing. If it was not for the fond, reverent look Sans gave the scarf, Papyrus would have thought his brother had replaced it.

Sans’ jacket survived the ordeal, along with the black pants. Papyrus didn’t know how his brother had bought or made his clothes, as he had no earliest recollection of the pair being worn by his brother.

Perhaps it was another mystery regarding the memories erased by a moment that only Sans remembered. He should ask his brother sometime, when he was less likely to be suspicious of his motives. His earlier negligence of glancing at where he had perceived the hidden blaster to be located was scrutinized and filed away by his brother. His earlier actions by protecting his brother from being questioned had also caught Sans’ keen attention. Sans would be questioning him later and he would need to prepare an answer – an honest answer. He only hoped the questions were vague enough that he could avoid going into too much detail. Truthfully, he would rather not yet reveal what he knew. He still hadn’t fully investigated every single secret that Sans had spilled to his dream self.

When he had entered his brother’s memories, it had been a shock. He had no recollection of those memories and it pained him to say that he had completely overlooked Sans’ atypical behavior. Sans had been far more active before the resets happened. Papyrus only remembered panicking when Sans hadn’t woken up at an earlier time for his job. He was usually eager to get to work, but the skeleton had quit his regular job (some kind of researcher in a lab at the Capital) to be a sentry. He hadn’t understood the contrasting change – it was sudden, without warning, and Sans’ main personality had taken a dive into the opposite spectrum of the magical chart. Sure, Sans still had the traits of magic he nurtured since he was a baby bones, but now there was more to him than what Papyrus could have sensed.

He should have caught on sooner. He should have pried further, but he knew… Somehow, he knew Sans would never simply reveal his secrets, not without making sure no one else would ever know. Unearthing secrets took a long time – it had taken him years of trying to observe his brother without letting the other skeleton notice. Sans would only reveal little secrets, and even then, he needed evidence that the other monster was trustworthy. A little secret as a test, something well-known, and if the monster stayed true to their secret-keeping, Sans would reveal more. If the monster in question had no relation to the secret, Sans would not reveal anything off-topic.

Sans never trusted anyone who could be called outspoken. Sadly, Sans had grouped him with the monsters he didn’t feel private enough to keep secrets – though it did not meant Sans didn’t trust him. Papyrus was outspoken, revealed his dreams and elected to be a sociable monster at all times when possible. Sans, on the other hand, was much more underhanded in sharing himself – telling everyone about his cool brother and cracking puns and jokes, all the while only sharing what monsters outwardly know from observation and the rumours. He shared nothing personal, not anything in his past, not anything about his dreams or his current interests.

Years of observing Sans made Papyrus realize how much his brother _deeply_ loved him. Sans would gaze at him attentively, take in his features as if trying to imprint Papyrus’ image in his mind, sockets half-lidded and skull flushed beautifully with adoration. Papyrus had caught his brother one too many times for it to be a coincidence, but there was a sense of something so… _absolute_ about it. He considered the gazing to be _intense_ , for the lack of better word. It would sometimes be heated, although those days had mostly reflected loving passion than lustful desire. It also allowed him to discover how utterly oblivious his brother was to his own emotions.

So, so deeply in love with him, and yet Sans never seemed to recognize it. Steadfast in his work, despite Papyrus’ playful jibes on his sleeping, always home at bedtime to read him a story. If Papyrus called for an emergency, Sans would arrive without question, not even asking about the problem and not minding in the slightest if it was over a rather childish request. He had called him one time when he knew Sans was at the door to the Ruins with his new friend, and Sans had arrived home so quickly that Papyrus wondered if Sans had lied about his location, but Sans had replied that he had taken a shortcut. (Shortcuts that Papyrus discovered could be called teleportation by humans).

Sans would readily provide help and keep him company while he recalibrated puzzles even if they were already functional. After discovering that “promise” to keep the human child safe, Papyrus connected the random malfunctions of the puzzles and traps to Sans. Papyrus understood the motivation – a mix of trying to protect Papyrus and the human at the same time. Sans had told him in the dream – if the human had died from one of the puzzles or traps, Papyrus would have gained EXP (Execution Points, his brother told him) and LOVE (Level Of ViolencE). Both ‘stats’ could permanently and drastically change his personality and soul; if Sans died in the hands of the human, a karmic status that would immediately bring bad luck would strike the child.

His brother could see the status of any soul – including his.

“bro, you okay?”

Papyrus nodded. His brother had made himself comfortable in the race care bed at his insistence. Sans had made no protest, only leaving his slippers outside the room before padding over to the bed.

“you look like you’re thinking,” Sans remarked.

Papyrus could feel the sharp eyelights travel down his pajama-clad body. He tried not to show his nervousness, but Sans’ observant gaze always made him feel incredibly exposed.

“OH, JUST THINKING ABOUT RECALIBRATING PUZZLES.” He was _trying_ to think about it.

“you’re getting better at this lying thing.”

Papyrus would have dropped the vacuum handle if he had been a clumsy monster. It was no accusation. Sans sounded completely… fascinated. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage?

“OF COURSE, SANS! THE QUEEN TORIEL HAS MENTIONED THAT I COULD START TRYING TO DEFLECT QUESTIONS WITH INNANE RESPONSES.”

Sans chuckled deeply. “that’s a good lie, too. it would have worked if i hadn’t known you for years.”

Papyrus felt the magic gather on his cheeks. Sans said it as a compliment. His brother could be too observant and perceptive at the most inconvenient of times! Papyrus straightened up and judged the clothes to be free of the fragments. He turned off the vacuum and placed it beside the clothes.

“SANS, I… I HAVE BEEN TRAINING MYSELF TO KEEP SECRETS.” That was the truth. Papyrus kept more things to himself and shared to Sans only what he wanted him to know. Secret-keeping took more energy than he thought. He wanted to share everything with Sans, and it was difficult trying to hold himself back – to wait for Sans to notice instead of Papyrus trying to convince him.

His brother sat up on the bed and leaned his back on the wall, eyelights expectant and interested. “oh?” Sans murmured.

“YES,” Papyrus answered vaguely. “I HAVE BEEN QUITE SUCCESSFUL, TOO.” How many years has it been since he discovered Sans’ obliviousness to his desires? It felt like a long time.

Sans’ smile grew sweetly devious. It made him nervous. “may i ask about it?”

Papyrus narrowed his sockets at his brother. Did Sans expect him to answer that? “Sans, are you trying to trick me?” Amusement tinged his words. “That will not work. I have kept several secrets over the past years and you have yet to know about it.”

Sans’ eyelights widened. His bare hands gripped the blanket on Papyrus’ bed and his mouth twisted with uncertainty. “really?” his brother asked in a small voice.

He sounded… _Oh no_. No! Not in that voice, please! “It is nothing that only I know,” Papyrus added quickly as he made his way to the bed. Everyone must have known Sans loved him so deeply. He had caught Grillby asking pointedly about it, but the question flew over Sans’ head and his brother simply told many stories about Papyrus’ recalibration of puzzles. “Just things I have noticed and thought to keep a secret. One of them was Undyne’s attraction to Doctor Alphys.”

Not to mention he now shared some of Sans’ secrets, and Sans knew about his own secrets so it wasn’t like Papyrus lied. Even Frisk knew about the resets, if the guilty looks at that one sleepover could be filed as evidence. He wasn’t sure if he should mention anything about knowing Sans’ reset days. His brother liked to keep him happy, and mentioning it might bring up more questions that could strip him bare of the secrets he kept.

Sans’ tense look relaxed, but the uncertainty in his eyelights appeared even more gloomy. Papyrus sat beside him, on the right side because he knew Sans would keep his left unhindered for immediate reaction, and wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulder to keep him from sinking into assumptions.

“that one seems like everyone knows it,” Sans agreed wryly, leaning into his side. “what about the rest of the secrets?”

“Sans, no,” Papyrus hissed in panic. Gods, why did Sans have to be his one true weakness? If Sans made such dejected looks like that, he would no doubt be spilling secrets until the end of time.

“ _pap_.” Why did he have to sound so sad and – and so _mournful_? “come on, bro. you know i can keep secrets.” Gods, were those tears at the edges of his brother’s sockets?

“I know,” Papyrus whispered soothingly, sliding his fingers on Sans’ skull until he rested his head on Papyrus’ shoulder. His brother wrapped his arm around his back and sighed in relief. “I know you can keep secrets. No one else in the Underground could keep such a tight hold on important secrets like you do.”

Sans hummed lightly. “you know about my blasters, though.”

Papyrus’ stroking faltered for a second. “Only when I was close enough to feel the magic,” he conceded. After that dream he shared with Sans, he had a better understanding about his brother’s draconian skulls. His brother had such great control of his magic that he could craft them a body with wings. The beams were powerful enough to drill deeply through the walls of the Underground.

“that’s not all,” Sans murmured in a drawl, turning his head to stare at him. “you know something.”

Papyrus felt magical sweat gather on his skull and inwardly berated his magic for giving him away when Sans’ gaze became sharper. Papyrus narrowed his sockets and gazed back, unwilling to back down, but also hopelessly weak against wanting to give Sans everything.

“I told myself I would never tell anyone but you,” Papyrus murmured. Sans perked up and scooted closer.

“really?” Sans sounded intrigued. “what is it, bro?”

“Every secret I know,” Papyrus answered. Sans’ sockets widened and he inhaled sharply. “Except for secrets that is not mine to tell, of course. I would never do that unless I have their permission to tell you.”

“you got any secrets for me, bro?”

Papyrus hesitated. “Well… yes.”

Sans raised a browridge. “and…?”

“I… I am nervous,” Papyrus admitted sheepishly. Sans made a comforting noise and tucked closer to his side. Papyrus could only smile at the reflexive gesture. It was cute of Sans to comfort him when he had needed it. “I am uncertain how you will take this secret. I have learned this only recently, after all.”

“what is it?” Sans sounded worried.

“You have nightmares about me,” Papyrus confessed. Sans’ eyelights disappeared and his grip tightened on his pajama top. He looked like he was about to protest, so Papyrus carried on before his brother replied. “After waking up from your nightmares you would watch the human so sharply, and I pieced it together. You are having nightmares of me falling by Frisk’s hand.”

A silence grew between them, and Papyrus tried not to fidget as he waited for a response.

“sometimes i hate it when i’m right,” Sans said after a minute or two.

Sans went to pull away, but Papyrus held him close. No, Papyrus would not let go. “Sans, please stay by my side,” Papyrus whispered on his brother’s skull. Sans reacted by slumping against him with a shaky sigh. “It is not your fault. I do not blame you for your fears. I have made contingencies to help you locate me at any time and made sure monsters are watching them.” It must have been the resets that caused such pain. A repetition of deaths could influence even the strongest of monsters.

“is that why you kept pranking them?” his brother asked quietly.

“Yes.” Papyrus flushed. He was not subtle about it, he knew, but the human thought him innocent of the series of unfortunate events that befell them. Sans always noticed it when he pranked anyone. “I never even let them be alone with me, so you could have the chance to relax. I have felt your magic around them and it felt like the blaster. It sings so protectively and it moves between the human and I when we walk back to the house. You watch us closely when the three of us are in alone.”

Sans froze at his side. “y-y-you felt my magic? when i wasn’t there? when i hide it?” his brother stammered.

Papyrus felt confused. “Yes. Is that unusual?” He glanced down as Sans’ skull flushed with magic and started murmuring words under his breath, something that sounded like ‘ _it’s not like that_ ’, ‘ _maybe family magic_ ’, and ‘ _it must be a skeleton thing_ ’.

“it must be a skeleton thing,” Sans repeated, sounding absorbed by his own answer. “we’re exposed to magic all the time, and we grew up with each other.”

Papyrus had a feeling that he just witnessed the reason why his brother kept himself oblivious to his love. He nearly groaned out loud. This will take _forever_. He needed to court his brother more obviously!

‘ _Gods, Sans, why do you have to pick the most complicated answers?_ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mistakes all mine. Sorry for dragging it out and leaving you in suspense (work, life, et cetera). Don't worry. Everything came out right. Go back up and read.
> 
> If I miss anything, like abandoned sentences or paragraphs (sentences and paragraphs that looked like they're missing words and they make no sense), please tell me.
> 
> (I bet you didn't expect me to come back with this.)
> 
>  
> 
> [progress and stuff](https://ibeta.tumblr.com/progress)


End file.
